I am a huge fan of playing by ear - of picking out tunes without the aid of written music, and of allowing your ears to be your guide. I believe that musicians with strong theoretical training often thoughtlessly dismiss the skill of playing by ear. They believe that figuring out a melody by picking it out in a "trial and error" method is resorted to by those who can't read music. On the contrary, I personally believe that every successful musician must have the ability to play by ear. Here is an analogy to explain:

But to say that understanding how sentences are put together is irrelevant to developing writing skills is generally thought to be ludicrous! The more you understand, and the greater your vocabulary, the further your abilities will develop. And while of course it is possible to develop a career as a performing musician without being able to read a note of music - you need to know: your knowledge of music theory will open doors to a world that was previously closed to you. Used correctly, music theory will help you not only understand your music, but will allow you to communicate your musical ideas, and to explore music in ways you have never experienced before

Sometimes musicians will claim that they don't want to study music theory for fear it will stifle their creativity. They equate increasing theoretical knowledge with diminishing artistic sense. And nothing could be further from the truth.

This all happened without you actually understanding or studying the theory of English. At a certain point, several years later, you learned how to read. You began to study the parts of a sentence, and how sentences are structured. You learned why words work together the way they do.

This understanding certainly did not stifle their creative abilities - it enhanced them! Far be it from any of us to claim that Mozart's musical abilities were stifled by his highly-developed understanding of theory - such a claim would be extraordinary!