What's the difference in sound between a closed hole flute and an open holed? Also, can only the closed hole play the first octave B?

There is absolutely no difference in sound due to the holes. They are there only for pitch shading, extended effects, and some notes into the 4th octave. They will not cause the flute to project more, give a darker sound, or any of the other things they're rumored to do. And no, only a flute with a B foot can play that B, whether it's open or closed hole.

My flute teacher told me that sometimes the sound is much fuller and the notes are clearer. Is that true?

With an openhole flute vs. a closed hole? That may be true, but it's not because of the holes, it's because of the overall quality of the construction. Openholes are standard (for whatever reason) on the majority of intermediate flutes in the US, and these flutes are generally (but not always) better built than their student model counterparts. The improvement in design and construction is what allows you to play notes that are fuller or clearer, not the holes themselves. If it were the case that open holes offered any advantage in sound over plateau models, top makers like Brannen, Muramatsu, Powell, etc. would not offer the option of plateau keywork on their top of the line flutes. To attribute improve acoustics to French keywork is pretty much ludicrous. As Micron, myself and others have pointed out numerous times, if the holes improved sound, you'd hear a distinct improvement of the notes that vent at keys with perforations, but you never hear anyone comment on how much clearer those five notes are than the rest of the flute's range.

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A plateau keyed Muramatsu will play MUCH better than an open hole Cibaili....

No that is not true.

I still think that it would be great to have a couple of sticky threads at the top. The most common questions that I would have up there is...

-What brand of flute is good or what kind of flute should I get?

-Closed holes vrs. open

-(...and everyones favorite) Where can I get free sheet music?



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Just to clariy. When I wrote no that is not true, I was answering flutechicks question about open hole flutes being clearer. I happen to be writting my response as the same time as you Chris.

If, for example, you take an open-holed and a closed holed Yamaha 485, both of which are in good adjustment and with no leaks, you will hear almost no difference at all. Any difference you do hear will likely be due to the headjoint, and you can switch headjoints to change the sound.

Most of the confusion regarding open holes is due to the fact that MOST of the better-made flutes in the US do have open holes. Most open/closed hole comparisons that people can do are between, say, an Armstrong 104 student flute and a Yamaha 485 open hole upgrade flute. If you further the comparison and add a pro-model flute, such as a Brannen or Powell or Miyazawa, these will probably sound even better. The difference is NOT the open holes but the engineering and the headjoint. Closed hole models ARE made by the best flute manufacturers, but they are not frequently seen since they are not the 'in style' to have.

When the only closed-hole flutes that a person has ever heard are student flutes, their misconception that the open-hole keys make the difference in sound is understandable, since you can SEE the open holes but the difference in the headjoint cut and tonehole placement is much harder to see.

If you upgrade to a new flute, most, or all, of your choiced will be open-holed flutes. Because of the 'anti-open holes' discrimination around, there ARE used closed-hole flutes (of outstanding quality) for sale that will sell at 25% to 50% less because of their closed-hole keys.

A similar discrimination exists for a C-foot flute. Since a C-foot is usually only seen on a student-model flute, people think that a B-foot must be better. Well, it will play ONE note a half-step lower than low C, but that's about it. And the majority of flute players never actually use the low B (or, for that matter, microtone trills or notes above high C for their open holes). A C footjoint can discount a really well made flute also.

So- if you can get past the discrimination against open holes and B-footjoints, you may be able to find a used pro-model flute for somewhere near the price range of a new upgrade flute.

And, if you have a really well made student flute, such as a Yamaha, you can 'upgrade' buy replacing the student headjoint with a pro headjoint, skipping entirely the mostly mediocre-but-adequate headjoints found on the upgrade flutes. And laugh all the way to the bank, enjoying the gorgeous tone and delightful responsiveness of the pro headjoint.

I have a Pearl student flute for a backup, and if you can hear the difference between it and my handmade Yamaha using the same headjoint, you can hear better than me. The keys are just a little quieter and faster on the Yamaha. I would love to hear your teacher comment on which flute sounds better in a hidden play-test- you'll pick the good headjoint every time.