Author and musician "Captain Fiddle" talks about his new book series and his
own personal dance with the devil as a Lefty fiddler.
Q: Ryan, why write an entire book on left-handed fiddling?
A: Whenever I played in public over the last 10 years some listener has asked
me why I hold my violin differently. Look at any orchestra. You’ll notice that
every violinist is playing right-handed! It’s been this way for hundreds of years.
Right and left-handed people alike play the violin right handed.
Violin teachers instruct all their students to play right-handed -- whether or
not they are naturally right-handed. I knew from early on in my own left- handed
playing experience that I wanted to explore this interesting subject. "It must
be really difficult to play a violin backwards," people always said, as if some
law had been broken.
My experiences demonstrated that it’s easier and more efficient to simply use
the dominant hand for tasks requiring skill and coordination. I clearly remember
practicing to write with my left hand for amusement when I was a child. I learned
to do it fairly well, but the results were always less satisfying than writing
with my far more coordinated right hand.
Q: So if you were right-handed by nature, why switch to lefty?
A: I developed a rare condition called "focal dystonia," which is genetically
a neurological disorder of the muscular system. The doctors label it an "adult
onset" version. Fourteen years ago my brain started sending spurious signals to
some muscles in my back behind my right shoulder.
This prevents me from properly controlling the motion of a violin bow with my
right hand. The bad news is that the condition is permanent, with no cure. The
good news is that it can’t get worse, can’t spread, and really only affects a
small range of activities in my life. I’m actually quite healthy in just about
every way. I’m a distance runner, physically fit, and a do-it-yourselfer around
the house. In fact, if I wasn’t a violinist, I would hardly notice my symptoms
Making music on my violin had not only brought great enjoyment to me, but had
also enabled me to make a decent living. During the process of mastering left-handed
violin playing I’ve regained both the pleasure of playing and the income derived
from performing and teaching.
Q: And that process led to the self-published book?
A: Right. I recognized the similarity between hand writing and playing a violin.
I began to put my thoughts to paper when I encountered many right handed "experts"
who opined with an air of authority on the topic of playing a violin left-handed.
They pointed out "pitfalls" based entirely on speculation, and strongly discouraged
violators of right-handed violin playing traditions.
In contrast to that, most of the naturally left-handed people I’d met were far
more knowledgeable about "handedness issues" and open minded about the possibilities
of doing skilled tasks with either hand. Most tools in this world are designed
for right handers, and by learning to use them during their lives, the lefties
had a great deal of experience in developing ambidexterity, and so could talk
about handedness with authority. I was then driven to write a book about the topic.
Q: Did shifting hands effect you in other ways?
A: Yes, come to think of it. The illness helped me grow in other ways. In between
right and left-handed playing I took up the accordion, started a cajun band, and
won a Boston Music Award Nomination for my accordion playing with my band! I also
have more patience, more focus, and I’m a bit more "bulletproof" to the cards
that are dealt to me in the game of life. I’m certainly a better music teacher
as a result of it as well..
Q: So you started hearing stories from Lefties who were forced to play right-handed?
A: No. I heard first from the Righties. When I began playing lefty in public
I was still a bit rough at it and some people, particularly other violinists,
told me I was playing "wrong" and that I should play the "right way." Few wanted
to hear my disability story. But I knew that left-handed school children got lefty
scissors, and righties got righty scissors, and that most children in recent times
are allowed to write with their dominant hand, whether it be right or left.. So
I pressed on, and got better.
Q: Was there a breakthrough moment for you in the move from right to left?
A: Yes. I walked off stage after one performance and a man patted me on the back,
and said, "Good job, we lefties have to stick together."
After that I started paying more attention to whether people were left or right
handed. I eventually met several other left-handed musicians who thought I too
was left-handed by nature. Many said, deep down, that they had always suspected
that they would have been better players if they had played left-handed instead
of being forced over to the other side by tradition and convention. Later I met
musicians who, after getting fed up with the system, had actually gone over to
the "dark side" and discovered that they were, indeed, better when they played
Lefty.
Q: Why include letters and comments from other violinists in your book?
A: I guess I started subconsciously writing the book on the very day I decided
to try playing the violin left-handed. I travel widely when I perform and other
musicians just saw me and wrote to me. I saved their letters and kept up communication
with many of them for several years. When the Internet it sped up the process.
Q; How have musicians reacted to your crusade?
A: Many of my friends, although serious musicians, have no interest in "handedness"
issues -- and perhaps think that my book is a bit irrelevant. One friend, a classical
violin teacher trained at Juilliard, is strongly opposed to the idea of anyone
playing violin left-handed. Another right handed friend who runs a private violin
school for children is very excited about the concept. After reading my book she
immediately changed two of her naturally left-handed students over to playing
lefty violin. She was delighted to report to me that after a couple of weeks playing
left-handed,both were progressing more rapidly than when they struggled along
with right handed bowing! My friend now has eight of her students under the age
of 10 playing left-handed!
ALSO: Left-Handed Fiddling for Beginners (book and music CD)
BUY THE BOOKS: At Captain Fiddle's web site
Author Biography (from the book)
Ryan Thomson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, into a family with a music heritage
stretching back to the pioneer days. He grew up in San Diego, California, studied
piano as a child, and played in a group recital on live television in 1959. He
attended San Diego State University and then moved to New Hampshire in 1976 to
study violin repair at the Summer Violin Institute in Durham. The following year
he enrolled in a graduate school program of experimental psychology. He designed
and taught a college course in the "Psychology of Music," while completing his
Master of Arts degree.
While attending college he produced a local bluegrass radio show and also hosted
a music show on National Public Radio in New Hampshire. In the summers he traveled
to music events across the country, and in 1977 became the northeastern regional
champion of the National Fiddle Contest in Weiser, Idaho. After college he decided
on a music making career and joined a full time Nashville based country band,
touring the eastern USA, playing fiddle 6 days a week in dance halls and honky
tonks.
In 1988 he acquired focal dystonia, a neurological disease with a genetic origin
which causes improper muscular function. He lost control of some muscles in his
right back and shoulder area and had to temporarily give up his career of violin
playing. He continued in music however, teaching and performing on other instruments,
while he patiently retaught himself to play violin left-handed. Ryan now plays
violin professionally as a lefty fiddler/violinist. He continues to play right
handed on banjo, guitar, mandolin, piano, accordion, and flute. His primary interest
is playing fiddle for folk dances, and he also plays chamber music as a serious
hobby in his spare time. Along the way he has won numerous awards for fiddle,
banjo, and accordion playing.
Ryan presently lives in Newmarket, New Hampshire, headquarters for Captain Fiddle
Publications. He is the author of several books on music, and presently teaches
music both at the Phillips Exeter Academy during the school year, and at folk
music and dance camps nationally in the summer time.
