yes there is a difference. I switched to an open holded flute after one year to a closed flute and the sound is so amazing and you can play more stuff. I'm working my way to at least

a

chair and here is the difference.
One: An open holded flute is harder to play but has a wonderful sound because the air flows out not just through the bottom but other holes. Two: you can play notes easier because you don't have to force much air out. Three: You can play what they call quarter note. instead of covering a note the whole entire way you can cover half to make a sound between the note and the sharp of the note. Four: It has a more pure sound. And five: Easier to switch form loud to soft (at least for me )

I'm sorry, but almost none of that is correct. The volume and air pressure aspects revolve around the cut of the headjoint, not the fact that the keys have holes. The sound does not come out the end of any Boehm flute. Rather, it is projected from the embouchure hole (and some say the toneholes, but even if that's true the French key cups have no effect on where the sound comes from). The French keys also have no impact on the purity of the sound. The only thing you mentioned that they do allow are quarter tones (they're quarter tones, not quarter notes....That's a note duration), which I also mentioned previously. Openhole flutes allow pitch shading, some notes into the fourth octave, extended effects (such as multiphonics), as I said in my first post.

My flute is also opened holed. When i first started to learn open holed playing it was hard because my fingers could never find the holes and cover them over properly. Nowadays, i still have trouble playing low 'C' but in the end the sound is soo much more beautiful!

Hello,

If I am correct 2 of the most respected French flutists (Mr Rampal and Moyses)were playing closed hole flutes. And both were admired for the beauty of their tone.

Mr Cooper the famous flute maker was in the opinion that closed holes are in fact better for tone quality.

I am playing on a closed hole model because I feel that it allows me to be more relaxed and focus more on the music. At my level I do not need (and probably will never need) the glissando, multiphonic and quatertone effects.

sorry, I was just trying to give out what i know... my band teacher told me all that stuff unless i heard him wrong (Which is actually a good chance! LOL!!!)

No problem. We just didn't want unsound info being distributed. Next time, just be sure to check the info before you post it.

Since, as someone else mentioned, tone quality and control all come from the head joint, I prefer the closed hole flutes. I have tried open-holed, and find closed-holed ulimately more comfortable. =)

>>HI!! MY FLUTE IS OPEN HOLED AND I LOVE IT!!

I WOULD NEVER GO BACK TO A CLOSED HOLE FLUTE AGAIN.
<<

My open-holed flute has a better sound than my old closed-hole flute because it has a better headjoint, is of better quality, and is made from sterling rather than plated nickel.

That said, at 40 with left-hand issues resulting from things other than the flute, I'm seriously considering buying a high-quality plateau/closed-hole flute (with a B foot) if I ever win Powerball and decide to replace the one I have. I truly think that the quality is in the manufacture of the flute itself, and not in whether it has closed or open holes. I would guess that the vast majority of flute players went to an intermediate or professional level open-holed model from their closed-hole student-grade flute. That really is no basis of comparison, because it's apples and oranges. If I ever find myself shopping, I fully intend to compares apples to apples.

Judy

<Added>

Having read the rest, thank you, Micron, for the detailed explanation. I've seen this discussed before, but the technical details tend to become blended with/lost among the psychological/tactile/personal choice statements. -J.

such as warbling notes, 1/4 tones, slides from one note to another, two notes sounding at once, etc.

I like the idea of the open-hole for that reason. Plus the idea of trying to play something with those things on it and not being able to play it scares me.

I personally like open holded flutes better because its more challenging for me to keep the hole completely closed... just a question out there... here at my city open holded flutes are required for top bands in high school... is tht the way with you guys???

Most schools do not set requirements on what kinds of instruments their students are allowed to play. All of the flutists in my high school's band did play open holed instruments, but we had one of the top high school groups in the area (we were comparable to many colleges, and some professional wind ensembles), and they played pretty nice flutes, and since the most easily available at that level are open hole, that's what they had.

Are they really required, or does it just seem that way because everyone seems to have one? I'd be interested to hear if other people have experienced this because it seems like it is placing a socioeconomic barrier on admission to the more selective groups, which doesn't seem right in a public school environment.

More than likely, the more serious flutists are in the more selective group, and, therefore, they have made it their priority to upgrade to a better flute, perhaps instead of a car or a new laptop or whatever else high schoolers might be saving for.

Sorry I'm so chatty today. I have a cold and don't feel like doing anything but corral kids and sit on my backside.

I feel the same way pickled.. i really do!!! And Flutist06 I agree but in this private school I want to go to... they are like super good and you have to aduition. They pick like 50 studentsout of 100! It's a Arts school... called LVA

actually Rampal played an open hole Haynes all his career, this is really an issue of talent and ability as a good player will make both sound good.

I agree with Microns explanations.