My 1977 B.C. Rich Eagle is so beautiful that I’ve rarely used it onstage, usually buying a more workaday guitar for regular gigs. It’s handmade of Hawaiian Koa, and the neck and centre section of the body are carved from a single piece of wood.

When teaching electric guitar I don’t always use a method book,but if I do it’s usually the Berklee Series “A Modern Method for Guitar” by W.G. Leavitt. I do teach a technical warmup regimen, just as for voice, and one of my favourite approaches to teaching lead guitar is to have the student lift, transcribe and then learn classic rock solos such as “Hotel California” by the Eagles, “Lazy” by Deep Purple, and “Aqualung” by Jethro Tull.