alt Hacker NewsGuitar music in particular has very little actual pressure on learning any music notation or theory. Some of the greatest guitar soloists of all time could not read sheet music and knew zero music theory. This is common enough where there's good odds if you just name a great guitarist, they are probably in this camp.
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There's a great clip (probably a bunch actually) of Jimi, on stage, holding up the band, counting frets one by one to find his starting position.
the only thing id clarify is that a lot of them won’t _formally_ know music theory, but their playing demonstrates can demonstrate a deep understanding of it.
Music notation on a 5-line staff is just another in the category of "shapes," along with pentatonic scales on a fretboard. Theory is another matter though.
Honestly, I know a ton of folks sitting 5th chair violin in a community orchestry or playing 3rd trumpet in a big band who have no idea what note in the chord they are playing and just reading and repeating the line.
Most of the musicians I know have very minimal theory, ironically even less than folks who can't read.
It's just really all about the ear and there's plenty of fabulous guitar players who will tell you to transcribe Charlie Parker but tell you don't bother playing scales for hours a day
This is debatable because I dont know what you mean when you say they didnt know theory. Hendrix is a great example, supposedly he didnt know, but it is very clear he would play the pentatonic of the quality of chord he was playing over. Is that knowing theory? Or playing is playing the BB King box theory? Or is knowing the major scale theory? It's almost certain that the best guitarists that you're saying knew some of these things. So do you mean the nomenclature?