Aubrey Logan question

In Aubrey’s interview, I quoted Lenny White from his interview where he said, “I learned to make music before I learned to pay music.” Now, Lenny meant that hearing music inside came before learning to pay an instrument. Aubrey answered that as she is writing, she hears the music before playing it. Both are interesting topics. The question is: As you examine your music-making process (improvisation, composition, etc.) does the hearing the music within come first or does playing the instrument to make the music?