That is true. Maybe I should say that the melody is based around chord tones with non chord tones or scale notes added for flavour. You could just as easily turn that around and say that for scales though I think it would be harder to see. Most tunes are based on simple chords,but some jazz stuff can go nuts with chord extentions. Even they can be boiled down to basic chords with just an added note here or there.
When I focused on chords eventualy the scales became absorbed by the chords. I didn't see scales anymore as such. I saw note extentions of the chords. I think the same could be done with scales. Seeing the chords being absorbed by scales,but still being aware of them and utilizing their notes in your playing. I have heard players talk about the first happening, but rarely about the second. I don't really know why. It might be the idea of scales standing alone that prevents players from seeing how intwined they are with chords.
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