‘Handedness’ is a term with deep roots in the sciences, particularly in the fields of psychology, physiology and neuroscience.1 While the standards for measuring and defining handedness vary between disciplines, we could basically think of it as someone’s preference for using one hand over the other.
I coined the term ‘handedness approach’ to make a distinction between a person’s overall handedness and the particular approach they adopt for a specific activity. It acknowledges that our handedness – rather than being a fixed, static and permanent personal trait – may instead be dynamic, across both the range of activities we perform and even the different phases of our lives.
Idiodexterity is a handedness approach specifically applied to playing string instruments.
[1] McManus, Chris. 2002. Right Hand, Left Hand. London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Next article: Why only string instruments?
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idiodextrous 