Deckman said, in part:

Music is a language. A universal language. Why would you not want to learn the language if you want to speak (sing) the language. That does not make sense to me.

A couple of comments.

Number one: The map is not the territory.   That is to say, the written notes are not music. Just as reading and writing and written words are not speech or all of language, nor necessary thereto.

To "learn the language" of singing is to learn to control the voice, to learn presentation practices, to get feel for the kind of music one wants to sing/play.

The notes, and the ability to read or write them, constitute a useful tool toward making music, but that is not music itself. There are many, many fine musicians who do not, need not, and do not want to use those particular tools.

Now, one could paraphrase Deckman's comment to ask, Why would you not want to learn the use of a tool to assist in learning [My bold insert] the language if you want to speak (sing) the language. That would be a far better question, and one that would admit of a great variety of answers.

Dave Oesterreich