Rant on the closed minded

You know what? Nuts to that guy.

I put my guitar into drop D 8 months into starting and came up with a song in 10 minutes. Alternate tunings are there for those who feel comfortable in using them.

^Amen. I think that it helps break creative barriers. Everything doesnt have to be in e or Eb tuning. 8)

And King, I dont think it has to do with mastering anything. As I said in my post before, its a way to break creative barriers, and that helps you write different songs. I dont think anybody in the world has mastered standard tuning, much less the guitar. IMO the guitar is a way to express art, its just a tool for music, and if that takes alternate tunings, then so be it. Plus, the Beatles used alternate tunings! :)

I tend to mess with alternate tunings when I fell stuck in a rut creatively. New tunings give you new ideas and freshens things up a bit. Or sometimes if I get frustrated trying to play something that's in my head I will just tune the guitar in a way that lets my fingers do what's in my head without working so hard.

It's possible that this guy really thought you were getting in over your head and was trying to prevent you from getting frustrated. On the other hand it's more likely he was a pompous buffoon. Next time he tries to give you "advice" tell him to take his peg winder and wind his own...well, you get the point. :lol:

Did you say this guy was a friend? Some people are just negative about everything. Just ignore him.

I had a guy tell me that I shouldnt be fooling around with alternate tunings because dont know many songs or much theory and that they are best left to the more "experienced" guitarist and A "newbie" like me should stick to Smoke on the water and Kumbaya.
:)

That's total BS. I started messing with alternate tunings about six months into my learning process. (I like to play the blues and use Open E and Dropped D quite a bit for that (among others) and there's no way you can do a Joni Mitchell tune without learning alternate tunings. Seems like every one of her tunes is in a different "Joni" tuning. You can get some amazing things going with alternate tunings.

Don't EVER let someone tell you that you're not ready for something. If you have an interest in it, you may not be the best at the beginning, but you're ready.

That's my two cents!