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Hi Joyfinder! What a fun and inspiring name!
I’m so sorry to be so slow in my response! My answer to your question about improvising is “both!” What I mean is that I know the key and the chords of the song ahead of time, and which pentatonic scale I’m going to use for that chord or for the key (Or both). I also tend to repeat a sound – like hearing a motif – so there’s some repetition that gives my ear a sense of musicality.
I too was very lost simply doing the Challenges and needed more context, i.e theory to feel like I wasn’t just learning piecemeal. I recognize now and appreciate more the Challenges methodology and it’s definitely going to help us to build some solid guitar skills, so do be patient. For me, it helped so much to learn the 5 pentatonic scales that give me a roadmap to the key and the notes (and some chords) within that key that sound good. I think the Challenges are a boon to building range and solid skills to play lots of different styles over time (at least that’s what I’m hoping!)
You have the right attitude and approach – Stay with the lessons and move on without first feeling like you need to perfect anything. I think you’re right – you’ll pick things more readily as you go. Maybe learn the 5 pentatonic scales (for any key) and have some fun fooling around a bit. These 5 scales repeat just in different positions on the fret board. Backing tracks can be a fun way to learn the scales and fretboard (though there always seems more to learn – that’s the journey 🙂
It took 8-10 months for me to learn the pentatonic scales (1-5) and diatonic scales (1-7) so that I understood how they connected and could move around.
I hope this helps, Joyfinder! I wish you great enJoyment on your guitar playing journey!
Warmest Wishes, Camilla