My interest in John Gunn began when researching my Ph.D. thesis on nineteenth-century cello performance practice. In Playing the Cello 1780–1930, I mentioned that Gunn was an interesting figure worth more detailed research, because a musical scholar of his period, nationality, and breadth of interests struck me as unusual. It also seemed that while he was often quoted in performance practice histories the publication dates given for his works varied wildly, and the scarce biographical facts of his life had not been clarified. More importantly, his intellectual approach and writing style were unlike those of other musicians. In just over twenty years, Gunn wrote books on the cello, the flute, the piano, the history of the harp in the Highlands, and on thorough-bass, and he planned many more. This study aims to amplify what is known about him, correct some biographical details, and contextualise his thinking.

John Gunn's biographical information is followed by chapters examining his publications, treated in chronological order apart from several shorter works from various dates which are grouped together in Chapter 4. In many cases earlier research, including my own, has given inaccurate publication dates, and these have now been clarified as far as possible, albeit with varying degrees of precision. Some of these errors, still circulating, originate in the early nineteenth century. I have noted such cases, but not every instance in more recent scholarship, thinking it both unnecessary and offering a risky hostage to fortune. Connections between Gunn's various works are identified in discussion; broader topics are held over until the concluding chapter which suggests some of the implications for historical performance research in the light of the awareness of a writer's orientation within the intellectual context of his time.

Gunn's biographical details and those of his wife Anne have been assembled from a range of sources, not without difficulty. It has been possible to gather some information about his social circles in London and Edinburgh, and his probable range of acquaintances, given that for most of his life we know his specific addresses in those cities. But, barring the emergence of entirely new documentary sources, his earliest years in Scotland and his time spent on the continent remain a biographical blank, and we know almost as little of his last years in London.