A Few Years Back......

Russel Hitchcock from Air Supply does the same I was fascinated watching his playing when I was learning 'All Out Of Love'.

Getting back to Bill's point, I have jammed with lefties before and have had no problem watching and following them. When you know the key, you know the common chords used and watching a lefty is like looking in a mirror at yourself playing (the way I learnt to play chords without getting into weird positions to see where my fingers were ). However having the music does make things a whole lot easier.

Roger

I totally agree with all above !!  A good friend whom I have played with for many years is a "lefty"..... and as long as we both know the tune and the chords, all is well.  Until I try to introduce a new piece and then it does get trying.  Not because he can't follow me, but because he will ask what chord is that?  Jeff is self taught and never took the time to learn the common names of chords, so if I toss in a Maj7b5 or anything in the 6 or 9 group, one has to stop and "teach" the new shape before going on (and hoping it "sticks").  Which is too bad because we do like to wander out in the blues/jazz zone once in awhile.  This year we do have to work on scales and modes. 

That is the great thing about taking up guitar, it is a lifelong "learning experience". 

As I stated before, it's hard to come here and NOT learn something. Roger, do you mean that if the guy says "Okay, Proud Mary in E", I should automatically know the chord progression?  With my age and memory problems that might be a challenge, but I'm up for it. Is it the same for bass,?

That guy in the picture above, Rick,  looks like he's not chording with his hand. That thing looks like half a spider.

Thanks for all the replies. Still hanging in there and trying to exercise a little even though my energy flags a lot of the time.

Bill

That's a good chart, Roger. I always think of the Steppenwolf song "Magic Carpet Ride" where the main riff is that 3-note structure in G (starting at D > C > G). I picked one of these Hal Leonard "Chord Wheel" doo-hickies a few years back, and it's also very helpful.

I hadn't seen those monks for a while, Bill, so looked them up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgYEuJ5u1K0

The guy in the rear is carrying a tattered burlap banner, and it has nothing on it at all.

I learned the "Mel Bay Way", for some chord shapes it makes sense to have an "anchor" string that you slide on to index the more common chord changes, and I still use the Mel Bay fingering pattern for A (in the first position).  That "crossed finger" does throw off others that might be trying to follow along, but it works.  He also had a whole slew of unusual fingerings for more complex chord voicings that required more joints in the fingers than I was built with.    Then you look at Django who had 2 1/2 fingers at best ...... so why am I complaining ?  Just takes more practice !!