This is the first lesson, and the most important one.
For this is the lesson of love and respect, which must be learned before any chord.
Gently brush the strings, taut ropes of steel, and hear them ring out at the slightest touch.
Tap the hollowed wood and feel the percussive resonance fill the air.
Rub your cheek to the fragrant wood of the body and inhale the warm, crisp scent of age and finish.
Run your hand down the smooth mahogany of the neck and marvel at the fine craftsmanship.
Gaze upon the instrument and feel centuries of expression be channeled through you;
And wonder,
At how something of this beauty could ever exist,
And how it could be destroyed for the sake of stage theatrics.