The 2-5-1 Most Players Don’t Hear | Noel Johnston

Noel Johnston joins Playback Sessions for a thoughtful conversation about exploration, 2-5-1 thinking, Mick Goodrick’s influence, and why memorizing licks isn’t enough. This episode dives into curiosity, harmonic awareness, and approaching guitar as a lifelong study. 🚀 Book a Free Skills Assessment with Sonora. https://www.learnwithsonora.com/skills-assessment 👇 Want to go deeper? Join the Playback Sessions community for tabs, breakdowns, and more. https://www.skool.com/playback-community-9570 ⏱️ Free Tool for looping videos on YouTube and Instagram https://looper.sonoraintensive.com/ 📍 Chapters: 00:00 – Intro at The Woodshed Guitar Experience 00:45 – Rethinking Common Progressions 02:30 – Why Exploration Beats Memorization 04:10 – Learning From Listening Deeply 05:50 – Thinking in Harmonic Movement 07:15 – Breaking Out of Scale Boxes 08:45 – Developing Musical Curiosity 10:20 – Teaching Through Demonstration 12:05 – Exploration as Practice 13:40 – Mick Goodrick’s Influence 15:10 – “The Advancing Guitarist” 16:45 – Moving Beyond Patterns 18:20 – Modern Jazz Language 19:55 – How to Study Differently 22:45 – Final Thoughts 🎸 Follow Playback Sessions on socials: -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playbacksessions/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playbacksessions -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Playback-Sessions -Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playbacksessionspodcast -Spotify: @ Playback Sessions Podcast 📍 Filmed live at @woodshedguitarexperience - Crossville, TN 🎥 Host: Spencer Handley Guest: Noel Johnston Editors: Carl Reeverts, Clayton Hopkins, Evan Bowser Executive Producers: Spencer Handley Camera/Sound: Mitch Goudy #NoelJohnston #PlaybackSessions #JazzGuitar #MickGoodrick #Improvisation #Fretboard #MusicEducation #ModernJazz #GuitarMindset #AdvancingGuitarist