Just don’t reply… it is an option! It took me years to learn this skill 
I am constantly compelled to send emails that say nothing but “Yes” or “No”… still learning obviously 
Patrick.
It never ceases to amaze me (no big feat there 
) how, at age 43, I let this crap get to me…or how much more I need to learn about exercising patience. 
I agree with Joseph…and being left handed, I’ve been discriminated against all my life. It goes all the way back to trying to learn to cut with righthanded scissors in kindergarten…and doing a crap job at it…never even imaging such a thing as left handed scissors, just being made to feel that for some reason I could never learn how to do it well.
There is no cost differential between left handed sets and right handed sets…same price. Most makers are perfectly willing to make a left handed set.
You can play a righthanded practice set by flipping the bag and bellows valve as has been previously discussed. This will give you an opportunity to try it out and see if you want to continue with the pipes. Then all you need is a bag with the fittings for a left hander.
I have a Whitmer practice set, with key blocks for a right hander that is set up to play with a left handed bag and the bellows valves ‘correctly’ oriented for a left hander. The key block on the bottom does get in the way of the bottom hand thumb, but not too annoyingly so. Kinda gives you a thumb rest.
Granted, I played trumpet and did not have any issues…but there was no alternative. Lets face it, UPs are difficult enough…and if you are learning them to give you enjoyment, then why not be comfortable?
Some people have been left handed and learned easily enough to play a right handed set. But if you read up on handed-ness, you’ll find that there are degrees of ability from one person to the next. Some people are totally ambidextrious and others are only so in certain skills.
So…sorry to rant on like this, but I thought we had already covered this ground and agreed to disagree..there was no concensus that everyone should play right-ie.
There are advantages and disadvantages to either approach. Sometimes I’d like to give someone’s full set a try, but cant cuz its configured WRONG for me…oh well, we can trade chanters and give those a try without problem. Thats one of the disadvantages, but for me the advantages of being comfortable with how my set feels to me is more important.
Another disadvantage is that a left handed set will have a smaller possible resell market in an already small specialized market.
Weigh the advantages and disadvantages for yourself and make your own decision without someone telling you what you SHOULD do. There is a lot of translation between whistle and pipes, so doing them each differently I would think would be incredibly difficult.
My practice set is for sale if you want to PM me. -gary
I think that the sentiment that using a right handed set shouldn’t matter is not a slight to lefties, but that, since both hands operate the notes of the chanter, there is no fine motor skill difference in what is required of your non-dominant hand regardless of what set you have.
The gross motor skills of wristing the regs, pumping the bellows or squeezing the bag shouldn’t be affected by right or left hand dominance.
And just think, violinists (and most guitarists) do the dirty work with their left hands - and if they are indicative of the general population 90% of them are righties… 
Agreed. But for some neanderthal reason, some folks still seem to uphold the sorry notion ‘that right is might’, and therefore, any other way (meaning being a lefty) is unorthodox and against the ‘natural’ way of things…complete and utter BOLLOX!! 
…as if these ‘know it all’ gobshites truly understood what is or isn’t ‘natural’. 
I don’t know why I feel so strongly about this, after all I am right handed when it comes to piping (but ambidextrous with most other things including writing). Perhaps I am weary of the petty nature of this sorry issue, when, I feel this forum ought to support and aid any and all pipers in every aspect of their understanding, learning and playing of this… the greatest of all musical instruments and mightiest outlet for the human spirit and soul.
…OK…now…ummmm… where the FECK did I put my Zoloft?..dammit!!!
hm…never much liked zoloft…I always liked this](http://www.astonishedhead.com/images/OVOID.swf%22%3Ethis) stuff better…
I am a patient. I am taking Zoloft. I am fuc**ng experiencing difficulty with remaining among the corporeal.
Even though I can make fun of myself for “MY” issues, that doesn’t mean that anybody else can…unless… their “FUN” is really humorous!!! (…like Monty Python humourus), vommit inducing, oily feccal spottingly producingly humorously (mind your kitty kat ) funny.
THAT particular link wasn’t…er…funny.
Yours in distress…Albion…
Like beginners can’t learn to make perfectly good and functional reeds, cause they’re well, beginners. Like that Joe? 
I are a patient as well…that’s why i felt comfortable posting it.
I wonder if anyone has ever done a study to discover if there is a link between clinical depression or bipolar disorder and uilleann pipe playing…or maybe it’s reedmaking…
I’m not certain I understand where you are coming from. Did I actually say that? When? Where? Show me that I said that…no…really, for my own mind’s sake, show me… quote me where-ever I said that. “QUOTE” me.
If, indeed, I actually wrote that on this forum, Then I WILL attone for it. If, you have misquoted me, then you owe me a deep, thick and creamy pint of the ‘black stuff’.
I have, to the best of my knowledge, always championed the beginner, the ‘Newbie’, the ‘uninitiated’ and have pledged to them the extent of my knowledge and experience… unfailingly and without expecting ANY form of renuneration nor compensation, but by simply answering their queries and addresing their ‘issues’ with either light-hearted rambling, or PM-ing them (yourself included) with advice, graphics, experience or mindless inane rambling. I am not into this solely for myself (it would be careless and wrong of me to be so) but for everyone who are so moved by Piob Ulileann…and that includes you.
I will end this (a personal tyrade) with a question:
" Are you so truly without error, that you honestly feel that you are qualified to call the skillet black?"
All the best to you and yours.
Three posts up from my last one Dude. And Joe, I was AGREEING with you - trying to make a point to the others on the board who tend to put down, belittle, or otherwise not support the newbies to the tradition. Anyway, no animosity meant. It’s really hard to insight inflection on a blasted message board aint it? Were we in person, I’d have nudged you in the ribs and given a wink and a nod to the puter-downers sitting smugly in the other corner of the pub. Well, off to go grab ya another pint.
In my ongoing and unavoidable shape of mind, it truly is extremely difficult to judge what exactly is or isn’t honest criticism, insult, personal promotion or other, without running to defend myself or go away, escape the ‘brutality’ altogether…why I ‘feel’ the need to do any of the above saddens me.
I have a long way to go to beat, pommel and totally fuc* up this pox upon my mind…et al. But I will begin by offering you an apology… I am sorry for going off on you and what I perceived was you word and intent. Not being able to recognize your statements at the honest value with which they were originally offered, and once again falling victim to the functionings of my mind’s fanciful falabilities…Brian, I am sorry, and I apologize. Forgive me… please.
Sorry mate… all the best!
Joseph…slow down…what you say is fair enough,but NO ONE on this thread has said that “right is might” or as Antaine expressed succintly," it is a slight to lefties."
PJ asked for opinions and got some…Thats all.
Reading the above it seems ye are attacking all those that didnae necessarily agree with the need to be rigidly left or right…
Interesting how there doesnae seem to be many pipers playing in the left handed style in Highland Bands!or is it they learn to play in the right handed style?(notice how I intentionally added the term style…so that I cannot be accused of handism)
Much more interesting would be the question where did your outburst come frae? the left or right side of your brain?? 
Uilliam
…ummmmm, I’m not certain if my brain had any part of it.
Wow. Thanks for all the replys folks, you’re a great help. I don’t really know what’ll be best to do. When I imagine myself playing the pipes it feels most natural to hold the bag and bellows as a right handed person would do. It probably would’nt matter much though. I feel like I could easily learn to pump the bellows with the left arm and so on. The fingering is another beast though. It feels weird just to think of playing with the left hand on top. I’m a mix-hander normally, can’t write with the left hand, but there are other things that I just can’t do with the right hand. Some things absolutely doesn’t matter which hand I use for what.
I played the Boehm flute for a few months last year, there are really no options there so I had to play right handed. Got tired of it, it always felt like I could do much better if I reversed the flute and played lefty.
I’d recommend you see if you can borrow a set and try it both ways. See what works for you.
-g
I’d love to do that, but who would lend me a set?
Erratum: I meant Henke not PJ.Sorry.
Uilliam
For what it’s worth, I am left handed but was initially taught to play the pipes right handed (left hand on top). I tried to explore both styles and to be perfectly honest they both felt damned awkward. However, that is the nature of the beast (pipes). In any event I stuck with the left hand on top and by the time I could play a tune or three it felt natural from then on in.
It is possible I suppose that I am equally at home being right or left handed. I boxed as an amature for 10 years and was quite adept at changing from south paw and back again. Maybe some of those knocks I took were not in vain after all 
BTW, the pipes were my first instrument and I had not been exposed to whistles and flutes et cetera so when I picked up the whistle for the first time some months after beginning the pipes I automatically put the left hand on top.
In short, do what feels right but remember that should you advance to a half, 3/4 or full set in the future you will no doubt discover a predominance of “right handed sets”. So add to that the cost of a conversion if you want a left hander. 
Joseph.