Every generation will be inherently
lazier than the next.
For example:
- Did you brew that Guiness you or your friends were drinking?
- Did you breed/grow your last meal?
- Did you weave your last shirt or build you last house?
Seriously though, I think it's both a blessing and a curse. But as was stated, nothing will replace serious practice. Learning to develop your ear is just another string in the bow -- and it will help with guitar/musicianship immensely -- but it is not a mandatory requirement.
In my situation having the information available is most certainly a blessing since I only play for my own enjoyment; it is not ever going to be a source of income in my life. And given the serious lack of free time I have available I am still able to move forward and enjoy playing without the need to spend hours upon hours trying to nut out a single tune (though developing my own ear would most certainly be a boon).
A lot of the time comments as was made to you simply comes out of jealously to a degree; and we're all guilty of it. For example, for those that learnt computer programming in Assembly instead of lovely programming environments we have today.
