Ongoing History Daily: Do left-handed musicians have an advantage?
Anecdotally, it seems that there may be a greater percentage of left-handers in the world of musicians than in the general population. This is something being studied and there might be a connection between handedness and musical ability.
Researchers have recently uncovered a link between musical training and how the brain processes language in left-handed people. Without getting too deep, lefty musicians seem to move the processing of language to the brain’s right hemisphere from the left, which is where these functions normally reside.
This suggests that musical training somehow impacts how things are connected and structured in their brains. This in turn may free up pathways on the left side of the brain for musical processing.
More work needs to be done, but it’s something worth looking at.
Famous left-handed musicians:
- Jimi Hendrix
- Paul McCartney
- Ringo Starr
- Dennis Wilson
- David Bowie
- Kurt Cobain
- Tony Iommi
- Phil Collins
- Eminem
- Lady Gaga
- Seal
- Mark Knopfler
