"Lefties Are the Ones in Their Right Minds..."

Good morrow, everyone!

Today is a day of celebration—A day of world recognition, a day of pride and acknowledgement!

Well, for about 9% of us anyway...

This post is for all my fellow lefties out there, happy International Left-Handers Day!!!

Yes, I think this is a day worth celebrating. Some might say it’s silly, but the truth is, it is something worthy of recognition. Throughout the history of the world, countless people have been treated badly simply for using the hand God gave them. They’ve been accused of being deceitful, dirty, bringers of bad luck, involved in witchcraft, and many other horrible (not to mention ridiculous) connotations.

But I am not here to write about the negatives, on the contrary, I want to bring to light the blessings and special traits of being a lefty, and recognize some important musical people as well!

Did you know that left-handed people tend to have a special sense of intuition? Or that they are often strong lateral thinkers, independent, experimental, visual-spatial and fantasists? This is primarily because we tend to be stronger in the right hemisphere of our brain than the left, which is where we get the phrase, “Lefties are the ones in their right minds.” (Hehe…) But also, it comes from having to train ourselves to use our right hands in a righty world, thus developing a stronger cognitive ability.

Here are a few people I’d like to mention who were incredible musicians in their day…and they happen to have all been left-handed!

(I wonder what they thought about it, and how they were treated? Hm…)

1.      Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach – of course there had to have been a lefty in the Bach family! C.P.E. Bach was the main person who carried on his father’s gift in composing, and he wrote some lovely pieces in his time. One of them, Solfeggietto in C minor, is a piece I’ve had the pleasure of learning, and it’s such a fun one to play!

2.      Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – the incredible child prodigy. The most well-known, well-loved composer in classical music history. And doesn’t he have an awesome name? It literally means “Love of God”, I would be proud to have sons named Wolfgang and Amadeus someday. God blessed Mozart with numerous musical inspirations which he turned to incredible compositions, and there are so many I don’t even know where to begin!

3.      Pablo Casals – I really hope you know who he is…but chances are, you probably don’t. He is considered one of the best cellists of all time, and the one who discovered  Bach’s Six Suites for Cello! Can you believe that? I remember reading that he found them when he was 13, looking for sheet music in some old shop near Barcelona, where he happened to stumble upon the Suites. Casals is the one who brought the music to life, the one who awakened the sleeping creation hidden among black notes on pieces of dusty paper…an incredible cellist, who showed the world a side of Bach they were never before familiar with.

(henceforth I will only list the names of musicians, so that I’m not keeping you all day!)

4.      Sergei Rachmaninoff

5.      Maurice Ravel

6.      Robert Schumann

7.      Ludwig Van Beethoven

8.      Jimi Hendrix

9.      Paul MCartney

And you wouldn’t believe how many more!

Well, happy International Left-Handers Day to all of you out there, and I hope you’re proud of the way God made you and don’t let people tell you you need to stop being that way!