i want a better sound and my band director/ saxophonist told me to play long tones. My role model, who is his protege told me the same thing. However, i have no tuner and i hate wasting my time with no results.

i want a better sound and my band director/ saxophonist told me to play long tones. My role model, who is his protege told me the same thing. However, i have no tuner and i hate wasting my time with no results.

Well, your question is really mixing apples & oranges. If you band director told you to practice long tones, he's trying to get you to develop your tone, which is something altogether different from playing in tune. Both are equally important.

When you practice playing long tones, listen closely to your sound. Play each long tone softly, then do it again but louder. Then start soft and crescendo to loud. Throughout, listen carefully to how you sound. You want to get a good full sound that is consistent no matter whether you are playing loud or soft. Do this on every note that you can play.

To practice playing in tune, you need to learn to match your pitch no matter whether it is another instrument or a tuner. To practice playing in tune, a tuner is really your best option to learn to train your ear to hear when you are matching your pitch with others.

Musicman is giving an excellent answer. You need to do longtones to develop a good consistant tone. You can't play intune until you can control your embouchre. So, as musicman states play the long tones and try for a full beautiful sound.

I don't work with a tuner with my new younger students until after at least a year of private study. You must get the tone first really.