This site is the home of research on musicians who play idiodextrously: ‘left-handed’ on a ‘right-handed’ instrument (or vice versa) without restringing it.
idiodextrous.com is run by Australian bassist Greg Gottlieb and is dedicated to Earl May (1927-2008), jazz’s most prominent idiodextrous bassist.
Discovering Earl’s life in music inspired Greg to undertake an MA by Research project at Middlesex University in London studying those rare double bassists in the history of jazz who play/ed idiodextrously. (Visit the Research page to read interviews and to download the full thesis). The term ‘idiodextrous’ was coined in that original project and has since been cited in several academic publications.
The research has now expanded to encompass musicians of all string instruments playing all styles of music from all around the world, and is currently being undertaken as a PhD research project at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
This project is ongoing and contributions to the discussion are very welcome! Visit the Participate page to add your perspective to the continuing debates sparked by this research.
[1] Image source: http://www.nmc-inc.org/Carol_s_Corner.html
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