How much does it cost to change a regular violin into a left hand one?

Jeez, people can be really bltchy on here. :\

There is much more to converting a violin into a left-handed one than just reversing the strings. And yes, it can cost more than the violin itself--especially if you're starting out. Unless you have a massive budget to throw around, I'd at least try to see how well you can adjust. If you don't do well, then it's something to think about, for sure. :)

Good luck! :D

It is free, other than the labor of switching the strings, just like people do on a guitar.

As far as I know, there are no "left handed violins" or violas, celli, or bass viols any more than there are left-handed pianos.

Your fears and anxieties are unfounded. The demonstrable proof is in thousands of left-handed musicians playing stringed instruments, pianos, trombones, etc. None of them had either much of an advantage or disadvantage being left-handed.

Besides, if you get good enough and wish to play in an ensemble, they won't have you; you would be spiking your desk partner with the bow all the time:-)

Start using your non-dominant hand (and arm) for numerous small tasks and chores. That will prove to you the only thing 'wrong' with it is neglect of attention in thought. It is proof you can learn to control it down to, eventually, a great deal of finesse. Ask any player, especially of violin or piano.

ADD: If you have not noticed, there are no articles or features of the remarkable story about the left-handed concert violinist who overcame the hardship of being left-handed, nor any similar on the amazing right-handed concert pianist who despite being right-handed, mastered the left hand on that instrument, overcoming a great handicap and going on to a triumphant and successful career. That's because it is never a big deal. Sure, a little awkward at first, maybe, but hard, difficult, big deal? ~ Naw, only in your mind.... and the brain runs everything.

Best regards.

Why would you want to change it? Every left-handed string player I know plays the same way as everyone else and none of them had any trouble learning that way.

Reversing a violin is a fairly big job (no, you don't just string it backwards) and is really not worth doing on a student instrument because it will cost more than the violin is worth. I know of people who had to do it because of injuries to the fingertips of their left hands, but there's absolutely no reason to switch it just because you're left-handed.

The bridge will need to be reversed and the soundpost moved (relatively cheap) but in order to do a proper job the fingerboard may need to be replaced with a mirror-image one (expensive). I agree with previous posters: why bother as the violin is basically already a left-handed instrument?

^

I'm just backing up Petr B.

Really, it's pretty unheard of for classical-string musicians (non-guitar players) to play left handed because it doesn't fit in an orchestra and it over-complicates the learning process. As long as you learn it right-handed from the beginning, you can play it right-handed. I'm a cellist, and there are some disadvantages to my left-handedness, but I never ever could have played it in a left-handed manner. For one, I would've been poking and prodding the others cellists in my school orchestra and throwing them off and looked just plain awkward, and another... I never would've found a tutor who could teach me because it would just be too unconventional.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

More than it will cost to just go out and buy a regular lefty.

Take a minute and really think about the violin.

... which hand does the work of stopping notes?

(Oh, damn, it IS a "left-handed" instrument)