Advice on tuning - good methods needed to improve ear

[wisedude]

I can usually hear the beats indicating I'm out of tune, but I often have trouble knowing on my own whether I'm sharp or flat, and have to resort to trial and error. What's a good way to gain a better ear for tuning? (I'm fine with intervals... with no difficulty I can identify 2nds, major and minor thirds, perfect fourths, and the like) I generally use a digital tuner... but I'd like to become more proficient at tuning without it and being able to make on the fly changes. Any advice?

[ShedShark]

http://www.thetuningcd.com/

[stevesklar]

get a keyboard. put it in church organ mode.

hold a key down (with a weight or best yet someone assisting you).

if someone is helping you they can change notes at random (slowly at first). and you can then try and match the note in a few tries as possible. then try tuning to it. practice dropping and raising your lip to hear how it sounds. then keep doing this, it will help develop your ear.

sooner or later the keyboardist can move fairly fast and you should be able to kinda play long ... then do it to tunes. but that will take some practice but your ear should improve over time.

also - the keyboardist can usually change the pitch a bit. good for further ear training if you want to go that far

[wisedude]

Thanks for the advice guys - also, is there a product like The Tuning C.D. that is free, and available on the web?

[jbtsax]

Singing or humming the pitch in tune is also very helpful. Playing in tune really has very little to do with the saxophone, it takes place almost entirely between your ears.

John