Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely the best for the beginning Classic Guitarist
Review: Don't bother with the "Sour Grapes" review from the so called professional guitarist above. This book is quickly becoming the De-Facto standard teaching guide for the classic guitar. In the last three years I have had three seperate teachers and they ALL used this book somewhere in their teachings. The included warmup routine is worth the price alone. The practice routines are carefully organized in a way that allows you to pick the areas you feel need the most improvement. Thanks Scott for a great book. Well done!
Rating:
Summary: Great technical exercises
Review: Encorporating the technical exercises into your practice will yield rapid improvement.
Can someone please post a detailed table of contents for the DVD that is available for this book? The DVD itself only gives a rough outline of its contents and does not say whether the several pieces in the book (by Andy York, Brian Head, etc.), are played on the DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Anemic and incorrect
Review: From having played professionally for many years, this little guide has some very serious mistakes on the care and filing of the fingernails. This is most detrimental to the welfare of the playing of a nylon string guitar, for anyone who evers wants to play well.
Rating:
Summary: The Intermediate
Review: I am a self-taught, early intermediate player. Following the warm-up routine made me aware of a couple of weak points in my technique. Just becoming aware of the problems has gone a long way to correcting them. I look forward to spending more time working with the exercises. I am certain that anyone who puts in some diligent work with Pumping Nylon will become a better player. I was surprised at how quickly I improved by following Mr. Tennant's instructions. About his controversial advice on nail shaping: it's an individual thing so you have to do your own experimenting. Even if his ideas on nail shaping (a small section in the book) don't work for you, I'm certain that the rest of the book will help you improve. It is well worth the price. Be aware that this is not a method book and you do need to be able to read standard notation for this edition.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I am a self-taught, early intermediate player. Following the warm-up routine made me aware of a couple of weak points in my technique. Just becoming aware of the problems has gone a long way to correcting them. I look forward to spending more time working with the exercises. I am certain that anyone who puts in some diligent work with Pumping Nylon will become a better player. I was surprised at how quickly I improved by following Mr. Tennant's instructions. About his controversial advice on nail shaping: it's an individual thing so you have to do your own experimenting. Even if his ideas on nail shaping (a small section in the book) don't work for you, I'm certain that the rest of the book will help you improve. It is well worth the price. Be aware that this is not a method book and you do need to be able to read standard notation for this edition.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the money
Review: I am at the intermediate beginner level. Just the one tip on elbow position, which helped tremendously with my barre chords, made this book worth the money. I just wish I knew that the DVD was not included when I ordered. But a great book for technique nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: A must for all students - at some point
Review: I had always been put off by the title - sounding more appropriate for Rock-style playing and players. It wasn't until I learned more about the author that I decided to get this book.I had always thought of myself as an advanced-beginner (not quite intermediate), based on having gone through a couple of years of private lessons when I was a teenager and the types of pieces I was able to play. Nearly 30 years removed from those lessons, I was depressed - thinking that I had reached my ultimate playing level. I've only had the book a week, and am working on the finger independence exercises. It has made me realize that instruction manuals normally consist of graduated pieces without much guidance. These exercises aren't for audiences (i.e. not much to listen to) and I don't think I would have appreciated them as a youngster, but at this point in my life they have rekindled my enthusiam. The fingernail shaping will always have loud detractors. The truth of the matter is, if you are happy with your current technique stay with it. If you're like me and have experimented with different nail shapes without instruction, the author gives a detailed explanation of his method. I plan to read and re-read that section to see if it makes sense to me before making up my mind. I titled my review as I did because I feel that there is need for playing pieces as the other instruction books have, and that many people may not be receptive to this type of instruction. That is perfectly normal. However, I think that at some point if the student continues playing, this book will help open the doors to the world beyond beginning-level pieces and continue to be a valued reference regardless of how skilled the student becomes. 100 years from now, this book will be considered a "classic" (and will still be in print).
Rating:
Summary: A must for all students - at some point
Review: I had always been put off by the title - sounding more appropriate for Rock-style playing and players. It wasn't until I learned more about the author that I decided to get this book. I had always thought of myself as an advanced-beginner (not quite intermediate), based on having gone through a couple of years of private lessons when I was a teenager and the types of pieces I was able to play. Nearly 30 years removed from those lessons, I was depressed - thinking that I had reached my ultimate playing level. I've only had the book a week, and am working on the finger independence exercises. It has made me realize that instruction manuals normally consist of graduated pieces without much guidance. These exercises aren't for audiences (i.e. not much to listen to) and I don't think I would have appreciated them as a youngster, but at this point in my life they have rekindled my enthusiam. The fingernail shaping will always have loud detractors. The truth of the matter is, if you are happy with your current technique stay with it. If you're like me and have experimented with different nail shapes without instruction, the author gives a detailed explanation of his method. I plan to read and re-read that section to see if it makes sense to me before making up my mind. I titled my review as I did because I feel that there is need for playing pieces as the other instruction books have, and that many people may not be receptive to this type of instruction. That is perfectly normal. However, I think that at some point if the student continues playing, this book will help open the doors to the world beyond beginning-level pieces and continue to be a valued reference regardless of how skilled the student becomes. 100 years from now, this book will be considered a "classic" (and will still be in print).
Rating:
Summary: Ouch. Keep the pain comin'...
Review: i highly recommend this book to any burgeoning classical guitarist. since classical guitar is such an enormously technique based endeavor, it?s extremely helpful to have a guide which allows you to lay down a good foundation. going through the exercises, it become clear very quickly where your weakness lie, and what process you need to go to strengthen them. I?ve only had this book for about a month, and already it has made a big difference in my playing. Very comprehensive, and very well done!!
Rating:
Summary: radical
Review: i highly recommend this book to any burgeoning classical guitarist. since classical guitar is such an enormously technique based endeavor, it's extremely helpful to have a guide which allows you to lay down a good foundation. going through the exercises, it become clear very quickly where your weakness lie, and what process you need to go to strengthen them. I've only had this book for about a month, and already it has made a big difference in my playing. Very comprehensive, and very well done!!
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