It worked out well for you in this game, but I'm unclear why you are learning music theory before you know free artistry. If I need a prebuild for ST, learning astronomy is usually my preference, as it is a required tech. If the tech pace is slow, make sure you are bee-lining your desired techs and trading with the AI. Also, different AI go for different techs, so you might swap your opponents around if you don't like the techs they go for.
On huge, tech costs are high, so the pace is going to be slow. Picking agricultural opponents can help. Being agricultural yourself can help, so Sumeria is attractive if you aren't picking a civ that starts with alphabet. (Commercial opponents can help, but they start with alphabet.) Trading contacts once you have printing press can help, too.