No Bull Music Theory for Guitarists: Master the Essential Knowledge all Guitarists Need to Know: 1 Paperback – 25 Mar. 2019

As a self-taught guitarist, I’ve always struggled with music theory, but No Bull Music Theory for Guitarists makes it so much easier to grasp. The book breaks down complex ideas into bite-sized, understandable sections without overwhelming you with technical jargon. What I appreciate the most is how practical it is—everything you learn is directly applicable to playing, whether you’re improvising, composing, or just trying to make sense of scales and chords.The examples provided in the book are relevant and help reinforce the theory concepts. It’s not just about reading; the exercises encourage you to pick up the guitar and apply what you’ve learned immediately. I’ve already seen improvement in my playing, particularly when it comes to understanding how scales work over chord progressions.While it’s great for beginners, intermediate players like myself will also find value in it. Some sections felt a bit basic, but that’s not a bad thing—it was a good refresher on topics I might have overlooked. If you’re looking to fill gaps in your understanding of music theory without getting bogged down in unnecessary details, this is the book to get. It truly lives up to its “no bull” promise!

I have been self teaching guitar for the last 18 months and this book has exposed me to a lot of what I was just playing without thinking about why I was playing that specifically (if you know what I mean), this has really opened my eyes to a new perspective on reading the guitar neck which will hopefully help towards me making up some of my own stuff!

I grew up an impatient guitarist. As a teenager I wanted to learn my favourite songs and impress girls, I don’t think I was alone in that respect. However, I regularly struggled to concentrate when my guitar teacher lectured me on music theory, something that has forever bugged me when talking technicalities with other musicians.“No Bull Music Theory” has allowed me to retrace my steps and fill in the voids that were left by the impatience of my youth. I’ve always had a musical ear and could comfortably transcribe my favourite songs by listening to them on repeat with guitar in hand. However, this was also my downfall and I found myself naturally falling into the same repeat patterns when composing music of my own. “No Bull” has given me a better understanding of how to piece together chord progressions and to improvise my lead guitar playing. I can also comfortably play a piece in a different key if a vocalist requires me to do so.Although I consider myself to be an intermediate guitarist, this book would be just as easy to follow for complete beginners. In fact, I would recommend that you pick this up when learning the guitar so that you don’t get off on the wrong foot. It begins by teaching you the very basics in the 12 notes of the chromatic scale or “musical alphabet” as the author puts it. Whilst the pace may feel slow at first for some guitarists, you will rediscover pieces of relevant information that you’ve happily forgotten over the years.Pick it up, either as an introduction to music theory, or as a reminder why you should’ve concentrated more in class all those years ago. You will thank yourself for doing it.

I'm really pleased with this book purchase. I'd describe myself as an intermediate player, and I've got bits of theory knowledge but have lots of gaps, a lack of terminology and doubt over what's right or wrong. I got to about page 30 before I started discovering stuff that I didn't know – and for the stuff I did already know it was reassuring to have it backed up. It's like I had completed some bits of a jigsaw myself already, but this book came in and filled in the missing pieces and joined all the bits together to make a full picture. The section about which chords go together and why was a real revelation for me.I probably need to go through it a few more times to make sure I remember everything (especially the names for things), and there are some useful tables which I'll need to refer back to.My only criticism is the graphic design of the inside of the book. It does feel a lot like a Word document that someone's printed out, rather than a real published book. The diagrams are clear enough and the fairly large print easy to read, but I feel like it could be taken to the next level if the page layouts were a bit more dynamic and professional looking. Sometimes paragraphs run onto the next page when keeping them on the same page together would make it easier to read. Also, I sometimes had to flick back a few pages to cross reference things which would be easier to follow if they were presented side by side.That aside, it's still a five star review from me, and I plan on getting the next volume, plus the CAGED system book (another term I've heard of but don't actually understand yet!).

I’ve been putting off learning music theory for far too long. Basic laziness really. Although I’ve only just started I’m so glad I did. It’s certainly helping my understanding and improving my playing. Having access to the audio version helps enormously. At least it does me. I tend to read and listen at the same time then listen again in the car or when I’m out walking or more usually sitting having a coffee. Did I mention I was lazy. Once I’ve finished book one I’ll certainly be ordering the next in the series. Thumbs up from me.

I’ve strummed guitar since 1973 and never once studied theory. Recently I upped my game and entered the world of lap steel and dobro playing. This involved different tunings, playing bass lines and melodies at the same time etc. most tutorials I’ve looked at talked in musical jargon. I had no idea what they were talking about. It sounded very complex. I searched the web and looked for books for help, I found nothing suitable for my needs. Then luckily I found this book. It’s extremely well written with bite size bits of info. It will reach you everything you need to know to understand music theory for your guitar, without bogging you down with things you don’t need to know. I highly recommend reading this book.