Book · Music Theory for Guitarists

Music theory for guitar, without reading music

Most theory is written for piano: the staff, key signatures and examples in C. This book starts from the fretboard instead. Every idea is a distance you can measure on the neck, a diagram you can read, and something to play.

Why theory books don’t work for guitarists

Open most theory books and the guitar turns up near the back: the same examples in C with tab underneath. The theory arrives already translated from an instrument you don’t play, and the translation loses the one thing the guitar does better than anything else.

On a piano, every key looks different, so a pianist learns twelve versions of everything. On a guitar, a distance is the same distance everywhere. A major third is four frets from any note, on any string. Learn the formula for a scale or a chord once and it works from any root, in every key, anywhere on the neck.

That’s how I teach theory in this book: as formulas and distances, worked out on the fretboard. No notation, no tab and no shapes to memorise. You use note names to check your work, and the diagrams do most of the explaining.

A lesson from the book: the whole ruler

Here’s how the book starts. There are twelve distances inside an octave, and on a guitar they’re just frets. This is every one of them, on one string, measured from A.

Frets	Interval	Formula	What it sounds like
3	Minor third	♭3	Dark
4	Major third	3	Bright
5	Perfect fourth	4	Open, restless
6	Tritone	♭5	Unstable; wants to move
7	Perfect fifth	5	Stable
10	Minor seventh	♭7	Bluesy

Play it Let the open low E ring and play up the high E string from the open string to the twelfth fret, one note at a time. Every interval sounds against the drone, in order. The minor second grinds, the fifth disappears into the drone, and the tritone won’t sit still.

A lesson from the book: the chords in a key

G, C, D and E minor turn up together in more songs than you could list. That isn’t a convention. Build a chord on each note of the major scale, using only notes from that scale, and you get seven chords. The scale decides which are major and which are minor, and the pattern is the same in every key.

Key	I	ii	iii	IV	V	vi
G	G	Am	Bm	C	D	Em
C	C	Dm	Em	F	G	Am
D	D	Em	F♯m	G	A	Bm

Look down the I, IV and V columns. In G, C and D, all three are open chords. That’s why so much guitar music lives in those keys: the instrument picked them.

Play it Take a song you know and write its chords as numbers. Then play it in another key by reading across the table. I, V, vi, IV is G, D, Em, C in G and D, A, Bm, G in D. Same song, no thinking.

What’s in the book

1. 01
   How this book worksWhy the guitar is easier for theory than the piano, and what you can skip
2. 02
   The rest of the rulerAll twelve intervals, across the strings, and why the B string breaks the pattern
3. 03
   The major scaleThe formula everything is measured against, and why the pentatonic never clashes
4. 04
   KeysRelative minors, the circle of fifths once, finding the key of a song, the capo
5. 05
   ChordsEvery chord as a formula, and how to read any chord symbol
6. 06
   The chords in a keyWhere the seven chords come from, and Roman numerals
7. 07
   What chords doHome, away and tension; why the V pulls; cadences and common progressions
8. 08
   Minor keysHarmonic and melodic minor, and the one rule that replaces them both
9. 09
   Outside the keySecondary dominants, borrowed chords and the tritone substitution
10. 10
    The bluesWhy every chord is a dominant seventh, and why it works anyway
11. 11
    ModesOne scale, seven homes, ranked from brightest to darkest
12. 12
    RhythmMetre, subdivision, syncopation and swing, all counted, none written
13. 13
    Where to go nextWhich book or free tool takes each chapter further

Every idea comes with something marked Play it, and every chapter ends with a few questions to answer with the guitar in your hands. 40 diagrams, 67 pages.

Who it’s for

Questions

Do I need to read music?

No. There’s no standard notation and no tab anywhere in the book. Everything is taught with fretboard diagrams, numbers and note names.

Is it for beginners?

It’s for players who can already play some chords. If you can get through a few songs and want to understand what you’re playing, you’re ready. If you’re just starting, Before the Boxes comes first.

Does it cover modes?

Yes, in one chapter. Modes are explained as one scale with seven different homes, ranked from brightest to darkest, with the chord loop that defines each one. If you want a book per mode, that’s The Modes, One at a Time.

Which format should I get?

The PDF keeps the diagrams exactly as designed and works on any screen. The paperback is 6 × 9 inches and lies well on a music stand. The Kindle edition is reflowable, so the diagrams scale with your screen.

Is the PDF delivered straight away?

Yes. You get the download link by email the moment you pay.

The Fretboard First series

Three books that start from the neck rather than from shapes or notation. Each one stands on its own.