Originally Posted by: ics1974
Is this the rule for all genres or can you just use the proper scale but not worry about emphasizing the chord changes.
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It applies to playing with taste in any genre with any scale.
[QUOTE=ics1974]
Do players like Page, Clapton and Kirk Hammet emphasize chord tones when they use the Pentatonic scale for there solos or do they freely use the scale?

Sometimes they do, sometimes not. But here's the thing: I would say, when they do, it sounds better integrated with the chords and music overall. When they don't, it sounds bad.

So you can play whatever you want, of course. But ultimately this is why some players (songs, solos, licks, parts, etc.) sound better than others: how well they put together all the pieces; how well they integrate all the musical elements of what they are doing.