Right handed guitar question?

Question:I've been learning how to play the guitar for about a few months now and I've been thinking:
Why do we strum with our right hand but we have to learn to use our left hand on the fretboard? Wouldn't be easier the other way around since our right hand is dominant, so then we could easily exert pressure on the fretboard?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I've been learning how to play the guitar for about a few months now and I've been thinking:
Why do we strum with our right hand but we have to learn to use our left hand on the fretboard? Wouldn't be easier the other way around since our right hand is dominant, so then we could easily exert pressure on the fretboard?

That's a great question that really got me thinking

Brian777 not only shares my first name but my opinion on the right hand as well. Your right hand needs to be precise, strong and it needs to have endurance.

The pick needs to be able to constantly choose from six strings and hit the right one every time. It needs to be able to change direction quickly and apply a range of pressure from almost nothing to aggressive blows.

Not only that, but fingerstyle guitar requires a great amount of control. Not only flamenco but also classical, folk, etc. Flamenco is probably the best extreme version of the control that is necessary.

If it feels better to play lefty then I suggest that you try it for a while so you can compare. There are plenty of examples of great players who play guitar the "wrong" way.

Best of luck,
Brian
Free Beginner Guitar Lessons: http://www.MyOnlineGuitar.com/wordpress

Then, re-learn the other way. Then you can compare. I am left handed, tried it, and ended up playing and teaching right-handed.
You figure it out.

I've wondered the same thing, and heard most lefties play right handed. Oh well, right handed guitars are generally cheaper, easier to find, and I have no problem with them.

Edit: See, the left above me plays right handed, haha (I was still typing when he posted).

I'm a lefty who plays guitar and I can tell you this. Although I have enough strength in my left hand to exert any amount of pressure I need, I wasn't always co-ordinated enough to do the picking I needed to do in order to become a well rounded guitarist. You won't always be playing chords and strumming! When you go from strumming to picking out notes you'll be glad you're using your dominant hand since you have much more finger flexibility and strength in it.

What you do not realise yet is that the right hand is doing more important things than the left hand.

Watch this flamenco guitarist and you will see what I mean. The right hand techniques are amazing :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHk50eRoG...

After a few years you will be glad you are using your dominant right hand to pluck/pick/strum the strings and not your left hand.

You didn't say if you are left handed or right handed but I will assume that you are right handed since you used the phrase "dominant hand". I am left handed and I play a right handed guitar upside down without changing the strings. I do alot of "flat picking" and "finger picking" and find that using my dominant hand is easier, and don't forget that you are also using your arm though it is not noticeable. My grip is stronger in the right hand so it works well when making chords and barre chords. If you have only been playing a few months then chances are that you haven't started any advanced styles of picking, but it is best to use the dominant hand for that.

idk but i cannot play a right handed guitar because i am left handed