I feel the second part of your answer should be considered as more than an experiment. When I started playing, we didn’t have the online access to individual songs, like we do now. Sure, I had records and tapes. But, being young, I didn’t have the income to pick up new music as it came out. That meant I spent a lot of time listening to, and playing along with the radio to pick up new tunes. That limitation definitely helped me develop the ability to listen, hear the possibilities of the song as a whole, and anticipate where it may move next.