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(okay, maybe I'm being overly dramatic...)
But, I do agree whole heartedly. If you want to sound like someone, something, some genre, whatever, listen to it until it's in solidly your being. Then, listen to your playing... See if you can pick out what's different.
I got a gig a few years ago with a semi-famous musician. She wanted me to just 'play the fills, leads, you know, those things you do'. She didn't want me to play much rhythm work... She was covering that, and doing a lot of finger picking and stuff along with it. There wasn't a lot of room for more rhythm stuff in her songs. As we worked through stuff, the biggest thing she wanted from me was to start with the melody. Always, start with the melody.
You'll find that most melodies are based on chord tones.
So, don't worry so much about what scales to play, worry about chord tones. But, also recognize that chord tones aren't necessarily just the 1,3 and 5, they also include all the extensions and alterations (7ths, 9ths, 11ths, b3's, b5's, etc.).
A few years ago, at a gig, I was asked how I knew what notes to play. My answer was, 'I just don't play the ones I don't like'. They thought I was being glib. But, I swear that is how I see it these days. I've put in a lot of hours of practice, a lot of hours with a guitar just hanging around my neck. I've played a
LOT of bad notes. A
LOT!!! I am painfully familiar with playing bad notes! LOL. These days, i really just try to avoid them.
I spent years playing along to TV and of course recorded music. TV's fun, especially ads. You have 30 seconds... gotta figure out what key it is, then try to cop the melody. GO! Seriously, it's a great ear training game, and it really helps you to hear what you're playing as well. So much better for your ears than TAB or learning from a YT video where the guy tells you exactly where to put your fingers. BUT, any playing is worth doing!
So, my two pieces of advice? Work on melodies and play a lot!
