If you've tried and tried and still one string doesn't sound right, forget about it! Just start playing and maybe you won't even hear the difference. Doc Watson was overheard before a live gig saying this to one of his bandmembers (who was taking extra time to tune perfectly), "Oh, that's close enough for folk music!"

2torial #0853: Learn2 Tune a Guitar (Continued) Tune the 6th string   You start the tuning process with the sixth string (the thickest one). Here you have two options. Relative tuning is suitable for the beginner guitarist, or for the intermediate guitarist who's feeling a bit lazy. Concert, or absolute tuning, is for more experienced guitarists who are playing with other musicians, or for the very keen beginner guitar player. Actually, concert tuning isn't much more difficult to do, but if a beginner should avoid taking on too many challenges and possibly becoming frustrated.   Relative tuning   This method doesn't use an external source to certify that, for example, the sixth string is vibrating at exactly the right speed.   Instead, you pick a tone that sounds and feels good. It should be a nice deep tone, but listen for the signs of excessively low string tension. If a string is too low, it'll rattle on the frets or make a buzzing sound. If you hear that, tighten up the tuning peg for the sixth string until you hear the pitch rise and the buzz disappear.   If the string is difficult to press down, or heaven forbid, the tuning peg is difficult to turn, you've overtightened the string and you need to loosen the tension. If you've overtightened the string, loosen the string slowly or the sudden change of tension may cause the string to break.   Concert tuning:   With concert tuning you use a separate device to determine the absolutely correct tone for that string, no matter what guitar you play with or where you are in the world. Examples of such devices are tuning forks, pitch pipes, or a piano that is in tune.   Let's say you're using a tuning fork. Take a look at it and see what letter is written on it--usually A but sometimes E. You'll be producing a tone with the tuning fork and matching the string to that tone. Use an A tuning fork to tune the 5th string, or an E fork for the sixth string.   Strike the fork on some firm but soft-edged surface, like your knee. (You never want to strike a tuning fork on something rigid like a bookshelf or a chair leg--that'll eventually ding up the tuning fork and impair its tone.)   Quickly do these two actions: place the base of tuning fork (not the forked part) on the guitar just by the strings. You should hear the sound of the tuning fork resonate in the guitar. Very soon after that, play the string that matches the pitch of the tuning fork. If it's an A fork, you're tuning the 5th string with it. Afterwards you'll go on to tune the 6th string by matching it with the 5th string. If it's an E fork, tune the 6th string, and tune the rest of the strings as you would with relative tuning.   And most important! Any time you try to match two tones (one which is correct and the other which isn't) start the out-of-tune string lower than the tuning fork's tone. That is, loosen the out-of-tune string until it's lower (much lower, if you're not sure you're going in the right direction) than the correct tone. You should always arrive at the right tone from below (by tightening a string that's too loose) and not from above (by loosening a string that's too tight). Step 4