Somewhat mystically, Doug Porter tried to explain what it feels like to play guitar.

"When stuff is falling off my hands and working really good, it's hard to compare it with anything else," the Coeur d'Alene musician said. "It's like you're part of the universe. Just kind of flowing through you. It's a pretty fulfilling feeling."

A few minutes before, sitting on a couch in his living room, Porter had strummed a tricky composition on a beautiful Goodall guitar, his fingers pulling, plucking, brushing the long strings as he moved smoothly from note to note.

In a world all his own, he had stared at the wooden neck of the instrument, trancelike. Alone with his guitar, free of distractions, he had focused on the coursing rhythms, the liquid sounds.

The music had consumed him.

"When it comes together, it's delightful," said the 60-year-old Porter. "And when it comes together in front of an audience, it's like, 'Holy cow, this is magic.'"

Porter grew up in the Bay Area of California, a self-described hot-rodder and "gearhead." He listened to classic albums - George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," The Kingston Trio.

"I've always loved music," Porter said. "I've been around music for a long time. It just kind of grabbed me."

His high school experience was not especially pleasant. He felt lost and alienated, and there were issues at home. Guitar, he said, "saved my life, essentially."

Senior year, Porter began taking lessons from Chuck Hofler, a masterful jazz guitarist who lived in Los Gatos, Calif. Hofler didn't spend much time on the hottest rock 'n' roll licks, Porter recalled.

Instead, he talked about theories, timing, arranging and melodies. He showed Porter how to read sheet music, a skill many guitarists never master.

Hofler, Porter said, was a remarkable individual. Porter once brought his teacher a certain piece of music, saying he wanted to put together an arrangement. Hofler glanced at the chords, messed with the melody lines, instinctual, spontaneous.

Then he played a wonderful piece.

"And it's beautiful. Just like that," Porter remembered. "He was a true, consummate musician."

Under Hofler's direction, Porter's own music flourished. He played in a jam band at Santa Clara University, where he earned a bachelor's degree. Jamming was fun, and the band wasn't bad, but Porter never considered turning his music into a full-time career.

It wasn't about money, or possible fame - he played guitar because he enjoyed it.

"I'm just kind of the guy, that basically was getting a college education and wanted to do it and had a girlfriend. Just a regular guy," Porter said. "It's something I've always done more for me than anything else."

After graduate school at Cal State-Hayward, he eventually made his way to Lewiston and the University of Idaho. He fell in love with his future wife, Barb, and followed her to Coeur d'Alene.

Thirty years later, the couple still live in the Lake City. Their two children are grown. Porter, now retired, worked 21 years in the Coeur d'Alene School District as a school psychologist. They're an active family, outdoorsy. Porter kayaks and sometimes runs whitewater rivers.

And he still plays guitar whenever he can, practicing at least two hours every day. It remains an ardent passion.

Back in Lewiston, Porter played with a couple of New Orleans artists in a trio called Moon Shadow. Later, he jammed with "Lonesome" Lyle Morse at venues in Spokane and across North Idaho. Today he plays local gigs at various venues - this summer, he will be performing at the Kootenai County Farmers Market on Wednesdays.

"We get together once in awhile. He's been playing guitar for a long time, and I've been playing drums for a long time," said Robert Brunn of Coeur d'Alene.

The two musicians like to improvise and experiment, blending their beats and chords. They're both jazz aficionados.

"(Porter) is pretty gifted," Brunn said. "He's very smooth; he knows all kinds of music. He's a very good guitar player. I have a blast every time we get together."

Porter will take the stage at the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown, Wash. at 7:30 p.m., this Saturday.

The guitar will sing.

"It's kind of like being there but not being there. I really try to empty my head of whatever else is going on, and just playing and letting it come," Porter said. "I really like playing guitar. It's part of me now. It's part of who I am."