“Hey Kid.”

Here’s what I’d say if I ran into my fifteen-year-old self at the guitar shop.

"Eleven years from now, that piece of wood and wire will give you some of the greatest pleasures in your life–even when it’s standing in the corner and your hands are empty.

"Because if you give it enough hours, if you give it enough of your heart and mind, you’ll eventually be able to understand what other guitarists are doing–even with your eyes closed. You’ll hear a passage of music, and you’ll know the names of the chords: C, G7, Am9. And when you hear a melody, you’ll feel in your fingers the movements that would re-create those notes. I know it seems impossible now.

"Just keep playing. Keep learning. Keep listening. Eventually your ears will deepen. You’ll hear all the way to the bottom.

"Penetrating that far, you’ll discover a whole world of pleasures that wouldn’t exist for you otherwise. When you hear the music of another guitarist, you’ll understand not only the beauty of the music, but you’ll hear harmonic movement and understand what the player is thinking. You’ll hear the other player’s touch, and see in your mind exactly how his fingers meet the wood. Every gesture will reveal a little of his character to you.

"At the end of a long and difficult day, when you feel misunderstood and disconnected, you’ll go home and spin a record by a great player. You’ll close your eyes and hear all the way through the speaker, through the wire, into the grooves of the record, and deeper still… until you’re right there in the room where that guitarist recorded. You’ll hear the hours of practice, the dedication, the sweat and concentration. You’ll see the hands, their movements. You’ll feel like you know the player.

"And somehow, that will save any day that you thought had gone sour."