Hmmm... Well, like I said, Arak, I`m not sure if my previous school`s band director knows how to repair/fix flutes well. To boot, I heard she`s retiring this year too. =[

Thanks for the tip, Piko. =] But our school district doesn`t have enough money to pay for the repairs for instruments. So whatever instrument is broken, well.. It stays broken.
Hmmm.. I hope getting a Yamaha repaired won`t cost around $1000...?

Thanks "Guest", but aren`t open-holed key flutes are for more advancing students...? I heard it`s quite hard to play, and is mostly used by advancing students.
I think the flute is much easier than the violin, since you don`t have to do any string crossing. But every instrument has its own pros and cons, especially if you want to play more indepth.
There are some flutes with the B footjoint that allows the player to play the B after middle C.

Try Selmer there ok, not as good as Yamaha but as long as theyv`e been checked properly, a new or second hand one should be ok, especially if your just learning. As you progress you might find Yamaha flutes to be better. Jupiter flutes are rubbish, stay clear!

Try Selmer there ok, not as good as Yamaha but as long as theyv`e been checked properly, a new or second hand one should be ok, especially if your just learning. As you progress you might find Yamaha flutes to be better. Jupiter flutes are rubbish, stay clear!

KC I`m looking for a used Yamaha...how can I get in touch

For most players, as far as playing is concerned, whether a flute has open holes or not is completely irrelevant. Top model flutes are available in closed hole versions, and they sound the same, as does my own top-model flute.

IMHO, If acoustic theory is to be acknowledged, then if anything, an open hole flute should sound WORSE. In practice the difference is so small that it is irrelevant.

So don`t be overly influtenced by this issue.

A good closed hole flute will sound far bettter than a more poorly-designed open-hole flute. Open holes do not magically impart a better sound or response. This misconception comes from the fact that most student flutes are made with closed holes.

If you want cheaper future servicing, then definitely get closed hole! The method of pad retention for open hole flutes adds a whole new set of complications and things to go wrong for the technician.

KCL, I only have one Yamaha 225S at the momment. It is priced at $250 Are you looking for a beginner flute?

Open hole or not is pretty irrelevant for perhaps 98% of people who learn the flute.

Most top models of flute come in either option, and the closed hole ones play just as well as the open hole ones.

According to acoustic theory, closed hole should probably actually play better, but the difference is very small.

Also, if you want to keep future maintenance bills down, then it is better to avoid open hole. The method for pad retaining in the pad cups adds a new set of often very time consuming complications for the technician.

Don`t get bogged down with the notion that open hole is necessarily better because it is not. This is an incorrect notion that flute players have foisted upon themselves, and stockists in some country have obliged.

Open holes are for nuances of tuning at extremes of volume for the upper echelons of flute playing, and to facilitate some effects sometimes utilised only in some modern music, which ids of a type that MOST people who play the flute rarely if ever play.

I am a 10 year old who started band 1 month ago. I got my flute from Sam Ash Music Store. the brand was Jean Baptiste. I think it was MUCH better than the Armstrong I had owned before i got that. I can play higher notes so much easier. I just started 1 month ago and am already in 1st chair advanced band! My Armstrong only lead me to intermidiate.