I think that if you are at least shown the way early (in the form of tabs and chords) it will help develop your ear. I would argue that the next step would be figuring some songs out by ear. Some form of documented notes will also give you a feeling of how complex a song is. In the guitar equivalent, you would learn some power chords before trying to jump in and play a Stevie Ray Vaughn or Jimi Hendrix solo.