i had a cursory education in music theory as a youth, but my interests lay in electronic and experimental music, where it didn't seem that practical (at the time, electronic tracks usually only had a few pitched elements).
i never developed a proficiency with a physical instrument, because the instrument of choice was imagination. i wanted to be able to imagine something and then transcribe it into a sequence/timbre, without the formulative filter of where my fingers fell easily, et c.
i think i achieved a good transduction between imaginative conception and realisation as such. it strengthened my ability to retain a phrase until i could go through the often lengthy process of sequencing it precisely.
i hear practically the same thing from any musician - eventually, you have to walk the whole road, whether you are raised with theory or avoiding it. i'm finally making a concerted effort to develop 'muscle memory' so that i can perform some of the things i've had to sequence previously, and i expect practiced musicians do go to lengths to retain some sovereignty for their imaginative conception over what comes easily. each choice takes some time and effort, so wherever you apply yourself, you're bound to gain something from it
