Im not going to try and figure out an explanation for that... best left alone.
I see where your coming from though with the losing creativity bit. I think the problem is there arn't enough hours in the day!
Considering the amount of time it takes to learn how to shred or sweep pick properly it doesn't leave much time for anything else, and even when you put 5 hours a day in your still not going to be the best. I think as soon as you learn scale positions and music theory your creativity is slipping away, unless you can ignore the fact that the song is in C major so perhaps you should play in B locrian. (not that anyone would want to)
The good thing I think about technique is once its learnt, it doesn't take as much effort to keep it. Once you can technically do everything your mind wants to hear, then you can concentrate on what really matters, the music.
It must be a pain in the ass if your mind is playing Michael Angelo Batio's music constantly. Your pretty f***** then. :D
- J
