2 and a half yrs to come up with that conclusion isn't bad.
You can play any note over any given chord as long as it is appraoched and resolved correctly. It really frees up your playing once you realize this.
You did not waste your time learning all those arp. and scales in the past, how would you realize what a major scale sounds like if you never played one. One of the best thing learning scales and arp does for you is to train your ear to these common sounds and make you learn how to create these sounds on your instrument. Good luck!!
