There comes a time in the life of a Nashville child when he or she asks for a guitar. Today was that day in our family.

The choices were seemingly endless, but Nick at Guitar Center helped us narrow our search quickly, with one criteria for a beginner instrument: a solid top.

“I don’t know if anyone in your family does woodwork,” Nick said, or something like that.

My children giggled. “Mom does,” one of them whispered.

Nick explained that guitars that don’t specify a “solid” top are made with laminate, which includes resin, which diminishes the wood’s natural vibration. Guitars need vibration to work.

Children, do you know what else guitars need to work–regardless of what kind of wood top they have?

Practice.