Pumping Nylon (Second Edition): Guitar Book, DVD & Online Video/Audio

Tennant's Daily Warm-Up Routine has become standard practice for classical guitarists worldwide because it actually works. The second edition strengthens an already essential resource by adding new performance pieces and Giuliani's Left-Hand Etudes while keeping the unpretentious, encouraging tone that made the original resonate with so many players.

Working through this book feels like having a patient, knowledgeable mentor at your side. The writing voice is conversational and direct, the exercises are musically intelligent rather than mechanical, and the performance pieces reward your technical work with repertoire that sounds substantial and concert-ready.

Classical guitarists at intermediate to advanced levels will find this second edition indispensable for systematic technical development. Teachers of classical guitar benefit from the structured progression and proven exercises, while guitarists working in other styles often return to Pumping Nylon for its transferable hand-building concepts.

• Work through the Daily Warm-Up Routine consistently before tackling the performance pieces; this foundation ensures your hands are primed for the technical demands ahead.
• Study Giuliani's Right-Hand Studies sequentially rather than jumping around; each study builds on patterns from the previous one.
• Record yourself playing the new performance pieces by Hirschelman and others to develop awareness of evenness in tremolo and chord voicing balance.
• Use the correlating HD DVD to watch Tennant demonstrate the exercises and pieces; seeing his hand placement and tone production clarifies concepts that benefit from visual reference.

Assign the Daily Warm-Up Routine as part of student practice requirements throughout the year; its consistency makes it ideal for building foundational strength that students carry into whatever repertoire they're performing. The new performance pieces work well as recital selections for intermediate to advanced students, while the etude sections serve as preparatory material for students approaching more demanding classical guitar literature.

• Right-hand finger independence and evenness through Giuliani's 120 Right-Hand Studies
• Left-hand strength, placement, and agility via the new Giuliani Left-Hand Etudes, Op. 1
• Tremolo technique and control
• Chord voicing balance and clarity
• Arpeggio fluency through Tárrega arpeggio studies
• Tone production and musical interpretation through performance pieces by Head, York, and Hirschelman