Tucked away in a dusty back room, R. Wesley Carr pulls out his scuffed-up 1959 classical guitar.

The walls are lined with old guitar cases and a tattered Grateful Dead poster and the floor is cluttered with stools and amplifiers, but he appears completely at home. Carr begins delicately picking at the strings, creating a melodic riff that seems to sweep and bend back and forth before floating to end on a quiet E chord. Finishing the 17th century composer John Dowland’s “Frog Galliard,” he takes a moment to admire his instrument before gently putting his guitar back in its case.

Carr, 21, of Rochelle, Ill., has been playing guitar for almost a decade, and now serves as one of two guitar instructors at Ax in Hand Guitars, 817 W. Lincoln Highway, Suite B.

The instructor said his family did not have much money, so playing guitar became more than just a hobby.

“We couldn’t afford things like video games and most of the time we couldn’t afford cable to distract me, so I’d go to school, come home, and the rest of the night was guitar,” Carr said. “I practiced for six or eight hours [a night]. I had nothing else to do and it was a way to escape.”

What drew Carr to the instrument was his involvement with church, he said.

“Most of how I learned was learning from a local pastor and helping out with worship at churches, which has stuck with me,” he said.

Now Carr is making money giving guitar (and mandolin, bass, and perhaps soon banjo) lessons at Ax In Hand. The shop has been a part of DeKalb since 1964 when Larry Henrikson, who passed away in 2000, founded the store. His sons now run the business. Co-owner Erin Henrikson, 32, said timing played a serious role in the success of the store.

“[My dad] was really lucky because The Beatles hit, and everybody wanted to learn guitar,” he said.

Carr sees Ax In Hand as a friendly place to practice music in a low-pressure environment.

“I consider all of my lessons my friends,” Carr said. “In a lot of ways this is a safe place where people know that they can come and not be judged, and we’ll sit down and talk to them more like friends than customers.” No matter what new guitar players want to learn, Carr encourages them to set realistic goals for their playing progress.

“Mostly what it comes down to is having patience,” he said. “You can never expect to pick up the guitar one week and play it the next week. What we always try to influence here is to make sure that they know that it’s a time-consuming process.”

Even though learning the guitar takes commitment, Carr encourages new players to focus on what is really important. “It takes dedication,” Carr said. “At the same time, you can’t let the time and effort you put into it take away from the music itself.”

To Carr, music takes shape as a way to link people together and to explore.

“I think music, in so many ways, is a way to connect with other people,” Carr said. “It supports community. It supports self-expression and being able to get away from what you’re surrounded by every day.”