A bit. Music is a bit like programming but I think there are 2 distinct ways to practise music: performance and composition. Theory helps you with both. I think that there's less of a "performance" aspect to programming, it's more "composition-like". Chess is an area where you have a combination of theory and skill that, to me, is more music-like (because you can play chess in a "performance way" and also in a "composition way").
If your goal is to be able to improvise then the purpose of theory is really ear training: it allows you to develop an instinct about what to do with your body to produce a desired result. Improvisation is a bit like "composition in the moment", like speed chess.
There are contrived situations where people treat programming as a performance activity but it's not the way most programmers spend their time.
If your goal is to be able to improvise then the purpose of theory is really ear training: it allows you to develop an instinct about what to do with your body to produce a desired result. Improvisation is a bit like "composition in the moment", like speed chess.
There are contrived situations where people treat programming as a performance activity but it's not the way most programmers spend their time.