Me too! Natural lefty, play righty - but then many lefties learned to be more or less ambidextrous as little kids - I throw a ball right-handed because nobody could show me how to do it left-handed.

When Danny Dyson built my Le Capitaine, I mentioned I was a lefty and he asked if I wanted the accordion left handed. Intiquing, but I thought it over for a while. I play fiddle lefty, guitar lefty, so my right hand is used to fingering. Seemed more natural for me to play a righty accordion. What seems strange for me, is thinking about all the righties who play stringed instruments, but have no problem using the 'other' hand on accordion. Go figure.

Steve

I am a lefty , hopelessly lefty but I play guitar and accordion right handed. My theory is that there are 'natural' or intuitive tasks and learned tasks.'Natural tasks like throwing,kicking and writing are done most naturally with the dominent hand. Learned or non-intuative tasks like playing guitar or accordion are usually learned under some form of instruction and not subject to dominance in the same way as intuitive tasks. So there is my bit on the lefty righty thing.
Leslie

I am not left handed, but I am fairly ambidextrous.

It started with a crazy idea when I was in my teens. I was a bass player in various bands, and I got it into my head that left handed musicians often seemed more musically creative than right handed musicians. So, I thought that I would make myself left handed (misguided youth that I was!). I started doing everything left handed: writing, eating, and bass playing. I developed pretty good facility with my left hand at many things, but I don't think it made me a more creative musician :(

I even incorporated my left handed bass playing into a little stunt on stage. I would start a song right handed, and then switch to left handed in the middle to see if anyone would notice. I can't recall that anyone ever did. Oh well.

One unanticipated consequence of all this was that I got to a point where I could no longer distinguish between right and left! That was VERY weird.

-David

Boy you left yourself open to some naughty comments but I just gonna let it go.

Ha ha! No, I did not do that!

The young prodigy's name is Guyland Leday, and he's Jeffrey Broussard's nephew. He's now 7; I have a pic of him playing my right-handed accordion in Larry's shop at Augusta 3 years ago...holding it upside down so the buttons are on the left, stops pointing down. Larry said he had offered to build a left-hander for him, but the family declined. He's amazing in person; he's much more than an amazing accordion player; when he's up there, he leads the band, no doubt about it.
If you get a chance, ask Jeffrey to tell you about how Guyland told him his Grandpa had come to him in a dream and told him how to play the accordion. It will make a believer out of you.

Nice box. I wonder how hard it would be to convert it to a right-hand box? Anyone?
Maz

If it's really 100% left handed it would be the hardest thing possible. Everything would be a mirror image. Only things you could reuse would be the bellows, bellows frames and keyboard. Of course the reeds could be reused and some of the hardware. Considering all the work involved I would think the cost would be at least 75% what a new box would cost.

I would venture to say 150%, considering that you will need to cut the reed blocks out and replace. Then the holes for the bass reeds in that end plate would be up side down. Va pa la chere!!

I play almost everything lefthanded, guitar, mandolin, pedal steel{try and find one of them lefthanded}, and fiddle, but having taken piano lessons, I don't have a problem playing righthanded accordions. In fact it would seem really strange to play one that way.Besides, it's nice to be able to pick up at least one instrument that belongs to a righthander and be able to play it. Did I mention that I play harmonicas right side up??

the leday kid is now 8 according to the newspaper this past Sunday. he is on an upcoming HBO special in October about child prodegies.