How can one develop excellent relative pitch?

Question:I started playing the piano a few months ago and I would like to start doing ear training and develop my pitch to the best of my ability.
How do I start, and how do I progress?
Thanks

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I started playing the piano a few months ago and I would like to start doing ear training and develop my pitch to the best of my ability.
How do I start, and how do I progress?
Thanks

Ear Training is a very important skill for musicians. The first thing you should do is sing. You cannot train your ear with out singing, and I'm not talking of advanced training or anything. Just learn to sing pitches and intervals.

1. Solfege is what I recommend. Use fixed "do"

Do Re Mi Fa Soh La Ti Do
C D E F G A B C

sing the pitches while playing the notes on the piano ascending and descending. Do this several times a day every day until you can sing it perfectly without playing the pitches. Sing it slowly and hold each pitch for a whole note. Listen carefully to the pitch played on the piano and make sure the note you are singing is in tune. Holding it for a whole note gives you time to listen to the note and adjust.

Once you are comfortable with this. start singing intervals of thirds in sequence...

Do Mi Re Fa Mi Soh Fa La Soh Ti La Do Ti Re Do

then descend...

Do La Ti Soh La Fa Soh Mi Fa Re Mi Do Re Ti Do

You can then transpose this and sing in different keys. Remember Do is always C... so in G major

Soh La Ti Do Re Mi Fa Soh
G A B C D E F# G

sing your f# as Fa... and so forth for flats and sharps

Another good exercise is singing intervals based on the tonic triad...

Do - Mi - Soh

There are a thousand inversions of this...Sing these 3 pitches in all inversion...

i.e.
Do Mi Soh - C to E to G or C to E and down to G or C down a 6th to E up a 3rd to G

There are tons of combinations. You can start on any note. Sing these slowly and listen to the intervals carefully

In the first example C up a 3rd to E up a 3rd to G you hear the major 3rd and the minor 3rd

Second example C up a 3rd to E down a 6th to G you hear the major 3rd and a major 6th

Third example C down a 6th to E up a 3rd to G you hear the minor 6th and the minor 3...

You can figure out all the intervals for the other combinations. This is a good way to start training the ear. Relative pitch is about hearing intervals. Nothing better than singing them yourself so that you can internalize them. Don't rush either. It will take time to develop good relative pitch. It will not happen over night. Be patient with yourself and continue to sing these every single day.

Message me if you want more exercises