If anyone had to answer a question about North Carolina's main musical instrument, the answer would be simple: the guitar. The guitar has found a home throughout North Carolina, and the mountains have cradled musicians like Wayne Henderson, Bryan Sutton and Doc Watson. FolkwaysThe Guitar seeks to demonstrate the range of guitar playing styles and sounds by calling on some talented players who have devoted their lives to playing or making guitars.

Host David Holt begins by introducing Dale McCoy, who demonstrates his style of finger picking, a style viewers may recognize from The Potters of Seagrove. Wayne Henderson not only dazzles audiences with the flight of his fingers, but he invites us into his guitar shop, where he explains the precision and care involved in handcrafting a guitar. Paul Graybeal, known well by people who collect guitars, handcrafts miniature and full-sized guitars, but devotes as much time and care to the process as one would do with a guitar that can play. Bryan Sutton demonstrates flat-picking and its variations and explains the demands made of a session player in Nashville. As a final treat, David Holt plays alongside the legendary Doc Watson, one of the great pioneers of Appalachian folk music.