It’s entirely possible as I have said it myself on the forums. In fact I would say it’s than likely!
You may be right.
Have started to delve into that.
I can hear when the chord changes but don’t know want the chords are, Supposedly different chords have differing chord tones but if I don’t know what the chord is how am I supposed to know what works best? I guess that with better hearing I would probably get easier.
At our stage of the journey I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect to hear a chord and know which chord it is. But, you should know the chord progression for your backing track and target the correct notes as each chord is played. For example, if the chord progression is A7, D7, E7 in a 12 bar blues format, you will know which chord is coming next.
Can you listen to a 12 bar blues backing track and anticipate when the chord will change?
As long as you know the form being played.
Right, but many backing tracks will tell you that. There are a few on YouTube that actually display the chord progression with the current chord being highlighted.
Yes I can but I’m not using that type of BT. I’m using the “G Major Wishful Here” provided as part of this lesson -https://www.justinguitar.com/guitar-lessons/chords-in-keys-for-jamming-mm-002#learn-more
Can you use the G major scale to improvise over those chords?
No, those are the 1, 4 & 5 chords in the key of A.
Another question:
Where are the chord tones in a G major scale?
If you’ve got a backing track in G major, any note of the G major scale can be a chord tone. It all depends on which chord is being played at a given time. In the case of diatonic chord progressions in G major, the chords you may hear are G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em and F# dim (the latter won’t likely appear).
If you know your major and minor triads, you can work out the notes of all those chords. Then, when you know the chord progression of the given backing track, you will be able to target those chord tones. But it takes practice. In the beginning, it’s enough to play any random note from the key of the backing track. Some of those will sound better than others. Also, while the chord tones will sound the most harmonious over a certain chord, it doesn’t mean that any other note will automatically sound bad or be inappropriate to play. All of that comes down to whether the melody sounds good or not.
Have you ever heard of Google Stuart?
The notes G B and D.
Those are the notes in a G major chord.
As I understand it @jacksprat, chord tones are the notes that make up a chord - which you described. If this is accurate, then @Stuartw there are not “chord tones” in a scale. What is motivating your question? Unfortunately I can’t see the image you posted above.
Edit: Ah, now I see the quote. I think it means: play notes from the G major scale over the backing track. While doing so, try to identify if the notes you are playing are in the chord currently being played. @Stuartw, you’ve mentioned elsewhere that you struggle to identify chord changes, so I can understand how this would be difficult for you.
Honestly, improvisation without a backing track is not useful or musical. The whole point is to hear the notes you play in context of the harmony and shape of a musical background.
Stuart, it is difficult to pinpoint what is at the root of your several difficulties and challenges. Over time you have asked many questions as you have moved through the grades that suggest you have either not mastered earlier techniques sufficiently, not consolidated in music and by learning songs or not understand musical concepts or a combination of factors. You continue to refuse to share any recordings which would give the community so much important and useful information to guide you better.
If you watch the lesson again you will hopefully pick up on the main point which is that chord tones are something you hear, they are not something you try to locate and memorise by string and fret number and scale pattern.
A chord tone will be obvious if you engage re-active listening because it will sound right, it will sound fully at home and settled with the chord being played in the backing track. Justin demonstrates chord tones and then demonstrates non-chord tones - and how the latter don’t sound like they are notes to stay on but note to move away from, heading towards a note more suited to the chord (a chord tone).
These types of notes, chord tones and non-chord tones create musical tension and resolution.
Non-chord tones are unsettled, tense, unstable, they want to move up or down to a secure sounding note.
Chord tones provide that place of security and good feeling.
Your ears are the only guide you need to hear this happen.
Play over a single chord backing track, not a full progression.
G major chord drone: https://youtu.be/I4-SN0Am4hY?si=YfZpC7NIKXQZCPDH
Spend at least a week on this one chord alone.
A minor chord drone: https://youtu.be/1uesJh_c96U?si=2GiYnVAqiBIvIJ0i
Spend at least a week on this one chord alone.
B minor chord drone: https://youtu.be/-apOrMJ0FRI?si=vTFSsBvpoOSrx0ov
Spend at least a week on this one chord alone.
C major chord drone: https://youtu.be/SpGmk5Oi44o?si=7zf5zeHE6t9T4VZv
Spend at least a week on this one chord alone.
D major chord drone: https://youtu.be/rwDpHMgv7Dc?si=Bw6ayVBkepE-dfb5
Spend at least a week on this one chord alone.
E minor chord drone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ2GvaG8dfw
Point noted but it sounds OK to me. Surely you can play something without a BT?
I know exactly what the issue is. In this case, it’s my hearing. My ears don’t have the full range of hearing which most of you take for granted. This is why I don’t get this lesson and gave up on transcribing. My hearing is getting worse and has for quite a while now so I try to look after it as much as possible.
You may well be right and to be honest I don’t know. How do I tell? Is there a test? What I do know is that I haven’t been sitting on my thumbs all these years and have practicing pretty much every day for some length of time. I have learnt songs but as it’s only me who listens to these them then I generally don’t play all the way through, although the songs form part of technique practice. I also don’t sing which doesn’t help. There was never any real intention of playing sounds for any one apart from me. It’s my way of getting away from the world for a bit!!
I seem to recall a post started some time ago which was about the undercurrent of forcing (forcing may be too strong) people to record and post. I know that Justin, you and others say that recording helps but it hasn’t for me and I have tried. I can record something but don’t really know what I should be listening out for when listening back! I really can’t see how this would benefit me.
I have watched the lesson a few times now and kind of understand when Justin is coming from but the notes he plays over whatever chord all sound OK to me. I don’t understand the ‘pulling’ or ‘home’ bit.
I have tried this again but still don’t get it. What does ‘fully at home’ mean? As I said above they all sound OK to my ears.
What does these mean – tension, resolution, unsettled, tense, security, etc?
And that’s the problem as my ears don’t have the full range of sound as others have.
Well I’ve been having a go at this (with the various drones) for over a week now and to be honest any note sounds OK to me over whatever chord. I can tell if a note is not in the scale but the scale notes all sound good to me. This leaves me a position that I don’t know whether it’s worth progressing any more improvisation if re-active listening is essential for this. I do seem to recall that Justin has made the point that if it sound good it is!
Justin notes in the lesson that “I’ve never met anyone who didn’t get re-active listening after a few weeks of consistent practice. So, don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it right away. You’ll get there!”. Well perhaps he has now. If he is up to a challenge then happy to chat with him!
At the moment (May ’25) the guitar is not a source of enjoyment. It’s more like a drudge! Perhaps this is a plateau (as others have mentioned) and pushing on through will be the solution. Who knows, and time will tell!!
@Stuartw how long did you practice the lesson on intervals I sent you? The whole point was so you would understand how to use them even if your hearing isn’t perfect.
To your question about improvising, Yes you can without a backing but you need good timing. So use a metronome if not using backing tracks to keep time.
This is the Root or Key. So notes pull your ear back to the Root note more than others.
If you can tell that a note doesn’t belong in the scale, then that is a good first step. Notes that aren’t in the scale, or “key”, will sound “out of place” the most. Now, notes in the scale other than the chord tones won’t sound as “bad” as notes that aren’t in the scale, but they won’t sound as “good” as the chord tones will.
Try this:
Yes, Justin says that, “if it sounds good, it is good” but he also says, in the context of this lesson, that “all notes are equal, but some are MORE equal than others.”
Best of Luck. It’s extremely difficult for people with decent hearing to understand what you are hearing (or not hearing), but trust me when I say that everyone here is trying to help you, not force you to do something you don’t want to.
I have a friend that is a really good player, but he can’t improvise at all. He just puts his fingers where the tab tells him to. He’s been playing in cover bands for decades. If your ears can’t tell which notes sound like they “fit”, perhaps simply learning tabs is a path that will bring you the joy that you seek from guitar playing.
@JustinGuitar @Richard_close2u
I’m going to go an a bit of a rant, something I have complained about since 2010 when I joined Justin guitar but my complaint feel on deaf ears so I haven’t brought it up on the new forum.
These stupid scale diagrams with dots and finger numbers are the most useless teaching tools and should never be used. Stuart and other students have such a hard time with understanding Scale degrees and intervals because these so called teaching adds don’t teach it. If you want student to learn what the chord tones are these sales diagrams should have Chord tones and notes not finger numbers.
If you want student to understand scale degrees and intervals then the diagrams should have then. I understand that the finger numbers help beginners with the patterns at first but once learnt the fingers should be replaced with useful information.
@Stuartw this will help you understand what @Fast-Eddie is trying to explain.
I would add the Pattern 1 Interval diagram as well to emphasise your point Rick. Seeing the interval positions in relationship to each other opens up a whole new world, or did for me. 
