Apart from Johnny Cash, I’d never really heard of bands gigging in prisons. But it’s happening across the pond. And some musicians are giving guitars to prisoners:

Billy Bragg feels so strongly about what prison is meant to do that he founded a charity called Jail Guitar Doors (named after a Clash song) to provide guitars for prisoners. “As musicians, we all understand how music can help you transcend your surroundings,” he says. “That is especially important in a prison, where the individual is often reduced to little more than a number in a greater machine. If we are trying to get people to reflect about why they are there and come to terms with what they have done, music might help to get to the root of that.”

Learning guitar has a funny way of focusing you on positive things and ultimately teaches you life skills that have nothing to do with guitar, like discipline and lifelong learning. Who knows? Maybe it would make a difference.