The intended question, and the existing problem...Do the tools we rely on become crutches?

And from what I see here...they do..

A crutch, is something that we come to rely on..to a point ..we can't do without...at least in our minds...And it does cause us to lose some skills that should be addressed..

I am not or was I knocking our tools..I use them all my self...but we should be aware that they could become too dependent..

As an example ..I always used fake book, and sheet music on my gigs...I didn't need them as much as they were there for confidence....that is a crutch..

About 20 years ago, I forgot all my music/fakebooks, on a gig with my young lady singer..Forced to "just do it"...we had no problems...relaxed and I think the freedom of "no" crutch made the performance better...That was 1990, and I still leave the books home...

I use/need lyrics for any vocals I do...this too I am sure has been a crutch for me.....but unlike reading charts, I cannot remember more than a dozen lyrics to songs I do.....So it will remain a crutch for me..

I more often than not prefer to play left hand bass..and cancel the arranger parts..It doesn't mean I do not like or use the "arranger"..because I do...but I believe, if we do not turn off the auto stuff once in a while...we will lose a skill or two..

I also know that the transpose button is a super feature..I use it too...but if we use it to change the tunes key to our comfort key...guess what, you will soon find you lost or do not have the playing skill you should have to play in all keys...even Db and B...