[quote name='norvegicusbass' timestamp='1383131995' post='2260508']he chord tone thing seems to imply that there are favourable notes to play for every chord and notes that should be avoided or else used sparingly as ghost notes or passing notes, have I got that right? Now I can play any variation of the favourable notes and it will "fit" so to speak the chord that is being played.
Something like memorising patterns for every chord and messing around with the order instinctively. Is that right?
So have those players who are supremely able to improvise simply committed to memory a series of patterns that they fall back on when they know what chord is being played?
This I know is a simplistic way of looking at it but have I got the gist?
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That is exactly the theory.
The good thing is that patterns can mean several things. either shapes on the fretboard, the actual number of steps between notes, note names, etc. etc.
Knowing all of those is going to make you more fluent, but jsut having fretboard shapes gets you 80% of the way.
I think order of emphasis of certain notes is
chord tones (notes in the actual chord)
scalar tones (the ones in the scale but not in the chord)
Chromatic (the others)
So over F major you could play nothing but F - A - C (Root, 3rd, 5th) and support the music perfectly.