Every time I tune a guitar, I get tense and nervous, just like the strings. When I come to the number 1 E- string I fully expect it to whine, squeak, resist and ultimately break with a lightning-fast slap of finality and defeat. (Breaking up is hard to do, or so I thought.) So I treat it gingerly, stretching it out, back-and-forth, rubbing its neck, and all the while backing my head away from the inevitabl-E. I could leave it at D Flat but if I do that it sounds, uh, flat? I could back it all the way up one octave but then it sounds like flubber.
It’s the same with people. Sometimes I’m the guitar and touchy, but more often than not, I’m the persistent tuner.
Lamar Howell's Weblog 
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