One of the great challenges we, as saxophonists, have to overcome is learning how to consistently play in .
In this article, we’ll talk about some best practices for (aka ‘ in ‘), then highlight some of the top tools to do this: tuners, clever and a few alternative methods for improving your apps .
Image | Product | Features | Price |
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Top Pick! ![]() | Hailed as a market-leading digital saxophone tuner; a great next step on your tuning journey! | Check Price on Amazon |
in is often considered a prerequisite to making good , especially when along with a band or other musicians.
Of course, there are many examples of seminal recordings by world-class musicians where the is far from immaculate… as you’ll see at the end of this article!
But for us, luckily, the days of are long gone.
We’ve picked out some of the best digital tuners for improving your technique added some some useful tips and tools for developing your ears and .
But first, why is this such an important topic?
?
is not as simple as merely pressing the right keys down, there is a multitude of factors that affect the the it.
The shape of the is naturally imperfect and, in general, the have a tendency to be flat, whereas the tend to be on the sharp side.
This can be problematic when trying to find the perfect position for the the neck of the horn. to be on
Remember:
- To make the sharper, push the on.
- To flatten the , pull the back.
It’s recommended to take the neck off first so as to avoid any unlikely but potentially devastating neck bending disasters.
We’d also advise and A if you play or baritone. to the note F# on the as that tends to be the most stable note on the horn. So that’d be E if you play or
your , so there is a lot to think about. technique issues on the can also be exacerbated by the temperature, the /reed you are using, and
These variables can be constantly changing, so it is important to be aware of them and work on your ability to adjust to different musical situations.
Most importantly, we’d recommend working on to develop a supported yet relaxed that isn’t biting on the reed.
Following on from that, be aware that warm weather, small tip openings and hard reeds are all likely to produce such as sharp of flat.
within the family
Whilst the methods for in are the same regardless of which member of the you’re using, they are not all as easy as each other. family
Generally speaking, the smaller instruments are harder to play in . That’s one of the reasons why the is not recommended for beginner .
As the most famous instruments in the family, and saxes are both relatively manageable in terms of .
And, whilst the baritone’s deep range also makes relatively simple, it’s size brings it’s own challenges for the inexperienced player!
Best
AidsOK, so we’ve looked at why is so important and how to improve this.
Being able to check your results is very important, and so here’s our list of recommended tuners to help…
Digital App – Cleartune
For anyone looking to ‘ up‘, the first port of call would be to consider a digital and where better to look than on your phone?
There really are a multitude of apps that can supply an accurate visual descriptor of whether you are in , sharp or flat.
Our favourite for its simple design and usability is ‘Cleartune‘. It will listen to you play using your phone’s microphone and tell you on a dial where you sit in relation to your desired .
You can also change the transposition in the app so , and baritone players don’t have to transpose to .
Cleartune tells you whether your in when you play a single note, which is definitely important. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the whole is in . is
Be wary of relying too much on visual tools like Cleartune as you may prevent yourself from developing your ; the quickest way to improve your .
+ Metronome – Korg TM60C
The snappily named ‘Korg TM60C Combo Metronome & Contact Mic’ is hailed as a market-leading and could be a great next step if you’re looking to buy a product to help you on your journey.
Image | Product | Features | Price |
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Top Pick! ![]() | Hailed as a market-leading digital saxophone tuner; a great next step on your tuning journey! | Check Price on Amazon |
This battery-powered unit has been specially designed for and detects which note you are and tells you visually whether you are sharp or flat.
It boasts a ‘Contact Mic’ which clips onto the bell of your and uses the vibration of the horn to give a more accurate reading.
It also has a great little in-built metronome that can go as slow as 30bpm – a handy feature for anyone who likes a lot of space between clicks!
Similar to Cleartune, The Korg will give an accurate visual reading for each note, but it also has a great additional feature that we’d recommend using.
The ‘ out mode’ will play a for you to play along with, allowing you to develop your by matching the the is emitting as opposed to relying on the visual display to tell you if you are in or out.
Great though this feature is, there may be other ways to achieve the same gains…
Drones
A drone is a sustained chord that you can play along with and make for a great , and development tool.
Drones are great because they force us to use our ears to tell us whether we are in or not, making them an effective alternative to a .
We recommend drones that are perfect fifth dyads (two to get creative with how they use it. player making a chord), these dyads can be stacked in octaves but the openness of these drones allows the
Again, there are many out there but these cello drones are free on YouTube and can be found in all 12 pitches!

You can practise matching the sustained notes, but also running scales and working on at different pitches to the drone.
You could practise major and minor thirds between the drone and hearing how it sounds for you to complete the triad.
The same applies for any other degrees of the chromatic scale; some will yield greater tensions than others, which will help build your knowledge of intervals. In other words, it allows us as single line instrumentalists, to hear chords.
‘Tonal Energy ‘ app is another digital like Cleartune but with the added function that allows you to create your own drones.
Although we find it slightly less logical to use than other sax apps, we’d definitely recommend it for the drone feature alone.
Transcribing solos & songs
Transcribing solos and songs is easily one of the most enjoyable and effective ways to work on your .
Practice along to your favourite solos, and in turn, build your language and ability to match your to other musicians.
Miles Davies on ‘Freddie Freeloader’ is a wonderful place to start.
Playing with Other Musicians
Finally, nothing can build your musicianship faster and help you work on your jazz musicians. more than with other
-wise, the most effective things we could do as saxophonists would be to work with horn sections, big bands and to play with harmony instruments.
These can all train your ears to more accurately and of course, it’s just great fun to make with other people!
Final Thoughts
Even though it should be all of our goals to play as close to in as possible, it is important to try and remain philosophical about it and to enjoy the journey of developing your ears.
Being slightly sharp can great if the performer is with enough intention.
It didn’t stop Dizzy Gillespie sounding incredible over this early version of ‘All The Things You Are‘, did it?
Or Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh – two legendary jazz musicians – totally smashing this incredible yet dubiously tuned rendition of J.S. Bach’s Invention No. 1!

We doubt they were using a during rehearsals!
Although not conforming to twelve- equal temperament, Konitz and Marsh are still in sync with each other.
We hope you found this article helpful. We have plenty more informative articles about the best gear for , or if you want to stick with saxophones, check out our instrumentalistsbeginner’s guide to the .
Have a favourite
? Let us know in the comments!
The label ‘Discover Jazz’ is attached to articles which have been edited and published by Jazzfuel host Matt Fripp, but have been written in collaboration with various different jazz musicians and industry contributors. When appropriate, these musicians are quoted and name-checked inside the article itself!