With that being said, I’ll take this opportunity to introduce and say some relatable things about myself. I’ve been playing since age 14. I’m now 29. I was not some virtuoso from the jump like a lot of you guys may have been. I didn’t really make my first major breakthrough as a guitarist until I was 18. What started connecting the dots for myself was a music theory course I took my senior year in high school. I’d like to take this moment to forewarn that I am not, nor do I claim to be, some kind of music or guitar philosophizer or pontificator. However, in my journey, when things started clicking for me due to this music course I took in high school, I attribute it to two things. This is a categorical generalization I make about guitar playing. Those two things are technique and knowledge. I jumpstarted and inspired a journey of knowledge seeking through completing this high school level music theory course. And then I took a few more courses in undergrad where I could. I’m not a natural player. I don’t have giant John Mayer hands. So building these knowledge structures was fundamental to my technical development.