learning new material

I play in a cover band and I learn material on my aquistic first then switching to my electric. Is that proper or should I just use the electric cause of tone?

Tone doesn't have anything to do with learning a song, so not sure why that would matter unless you are trying to mimic the tone of the song you are playing. Not really sure what you are asking though.

You can learn a song on an acoustic then go electric if you want. Not really going to harm anything.

I was jammin in a Iron Maiden tribute band and when the bassist asked me how I learned the material I told him on my aquistic. Well he bout had a meltdown and said you can't learn material on the aquistic cause It didn't have to same tone so I was asking for opinions on this. I myself perfer to learn on my aquistic and continue to do so. I was wondering if his statement holds water on this or is he just a control freak.

I agree with everything hunter1801 has to say. Don't really know why your bassist would flip out on you learning on acoustic.

Most of the time playing on a (steel string) acoustic is a very good thing in my opinion. Just because it is harder to press down the strings and do certain things you really build up more finger strength in comparison with an electric. After that, doing the same song on an electric should be easier for your fingers.

But no, your tone has really nothing to do with learning the song. As long as you play the song correctly on your electric if you play it live then there's nothing to be upset about right?

JJ

Ya the bassist overreacted for sure.

When it comes to "learning the song", you can most definitely learn the structure of it on any type of guitar. The only thing that would be difficult to learn on an acoustic are maybe faster runs/solos.

Depending on what type of acoustic you have or whether or not it is a cut-away type (bottom section cut out so you can reach all the frets) it may not even be possible for you to play certain things.

So ya, basically you can "learn the song" on an acoustic. I'd say you "need" an electric for when you actually play the song obviously, for solos or fast sections (assuming your acoustic is a little bigger/bulkier. Electrics are generally made to be able to move around more quickly on), and for what I can only describe as "fine tuning" which are all the nuances and slight differences in adjusting your play style to the new tone you are getting.

Originally Posted by: lignut...or is he just a control freak.

This. If you are learning the songs, it shouldn't matter to him if you learn them on a xylophone. =P For me, using an acoustic can help me keep focused on chords and structure and not wander off into Lickland. And it is a must for learning vocals. Silly bass player.

Originally Posted by: hunter1801Tone doesn't have anything to do with learning a song, so not sure why that would matter unless you are trying to mimic the tone of the song you are playing. Not really sure what you are asking though.

You can learn a song on an acoustic then go electric if you want. Not really going to harm anything.

Yes, I agree with this. The tone really doesn't make any difference when using an acoustic guitar or electric unless of course, they have a different TUNING.

I hope I got the question right.

Learning a song on an acoustic will help you play it better on an electric because it tends to be easier to play an electric. I prefer to write my music on an acoustic then move to electric, if it doesn't sound good clean it will never sound good with gobs of distortion. I started doing this after reading an interview with hetfield and hammet discussing their songwriting approach, apparently they do it all acoustic first.