Is it possible to break you ear?

I learned how to play guitar by ear. Now I'm trying to learn the right way. Are old habits hard to break?

• I've been playing for 16 years. I have a good ear for music. I learned mainly by ear but I also learned all of my chord formations (bar chords, open chords, etc.) and some scales from my father. And then I learned how to solo by watching other blues guitarists. But most of what I have done is by ear. I never knew all of the notes on the fretboards. I just played what sounded right. Now I am trying to learn the CAGED system. It makes no sense to me. I am also trying to learn arpeggios, modes, and complex scales up and down the neck from music books. In other words, I am trying to piece it all together by connecting the scales on the fretboard. Oh, and I am trying to learn a little bit of music theory, too. Ah, none of this stuff in instructional books really makes much sense to me. Is that because it is hard to relearn something you learned in a different way? In other words, are old musical habits hard to break?

• Answer:

  i learned how to play piano by ear and i am in choir but i still cannot read sheet music: so, my answer would be yes. Music is like a foriegn language. if you were taught how to speak it and then were told to completely change it you'd be in some trouble