My band director says that i need a new flute. Mine is in good condition but i could make my sound even better with a better flute. What might he be shooting for? Open holed or just a better flute? Plz post anything he might be thinking of because i don't know all that much about the types of flutes out there thanx for the help

First off, you need to ask your band director WHY you need a new flute- especially if your current instrument is in good condition.
From your comments, it seems that you want to have a better sound. Can you make a better sound on a different flute? If you can, then you ought to consider it.

Open holes? OK, most people are a little (or a lot) confused about this one. Truthfully, they do NOT have an effect on the tone quality of the flute. A lot of uneducated flutists think that open-hole flutes sound better. Why do they think this? Because they have played two flutes: an average quality student-flute with closed holes, and a reasonable quality step-up flute (with better design/engineering on the headjoint) and open holes. They wrongly attribute the better sound to the open holes, when the improvement is due to the headjoint. Over 90% of the tone quality comes from the headjoint- so the better the headjoint, the better the sound. More about this point later.

Open hole flutes are the standard for step-up and professional flutes in the U.S. Therefore, most of the nicer flutes that you will have the opportunity to try WILL have open holes. Open holes are an advantage if you really, really like jazz and plan to play jazz flute, since there are a few special effects that you have to have open holes for. Other than in jazz, you are unlikely to need this as a feature. The disadvantages to open holes are that you will need to either plug the holes, or 're-learn' exactly where your fingers go, to play the flute. Most people can learn, but sports-injuries are actually fairly common among flutists who practice for long periods on an open-hole flute that doesn't fit their hand conformation well. Also, open-hole flutes are a bit more difficult to pad well, and usually cost a bit more when you take them in for their yearly clean, oil, and adjust service (COA). So to sum up, your 'new' flute does not have to have open holes, but if it does that will be ok, too- you can work around that.

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The other common 'upgrade' on a step-up flute is a b-footjoint. This heavier flute with one more key to pad well plays exactly one more note than a C-foot flute- an entire half-step below lowest C, you will (maybe not!) be able to play a low b-natural. This note comes up really, really infrequently in the flute literature. Once again, if you are into newer music, you may see it more often. Once again, it's ok to have a b-foot flute, but you don't likely need it.(Most European players have C-foot instruments, so if a C-foot is adequate for the Berlin Philharmonic, it should be OK for your school band!)

So what do you need? Well, I think you should focus on three specific things: 1) engineering/design of the headjoint, 2)reliability and quality of the mechanism (keywork and springs) and 3)engineering and design of the scale, which means essentially where did they put the tone holes, and this will have an effect on which notes play closest in tune, and which notes you will have to make adjustments for.

Starting with 3), scale, this can be determined by playing a flute agains a tuner, and noticing which notes are flat and which are sharp, and which are right on. If a lot of notes are out of tune, you will have a lot more work to sound good with any group or accompanist.

Point 2), reliability, can be determined best by showing your prospective 'new' flute to a good flute technician, and asking him if the flute is in good repair. After this, some flutes have a reputation for quality and repair-ability, while others have a reputation for being un-repairable and going out of adjustment more frequently. I'm sure you'll get some recommendations, and some 'don't buy a *** brand'. Even with a reputable brand and model, though, you should have a flute tech look at 'your' prospective flute to make sure it doesn't have bent rods, stripped threads, or anything that will cause problems.

As for point 3), the headjoint, this is where you'll have to roll up your sleeves and TRY out several flutes in your price range. Don't let gold plating turn your head (unless you really like it)- you'll spend money for it without affecting the sound. The reason there are so many headjoint designs is that different people do better with different designs. What is perfect for your friend may be entirely lousy for you. So try some, see what YOU like, and what you can get the best sound from. Do the low notes speak well? How about the high notes? Is articulation easy- can you get good, fast staccato notes?

Used flutes can be found for less than new, but I would make sure that you have a knowledgeable person helping you no matter what flutes you are looking at. Spending $50 on a flute teacher who can help you upgrade can save you hundreds of dollars on your new flute, and you'll learn new things, too.

I can imagine 3 quite different scenarios which may be apparent from the context of his/her remark but which needs to be confirmed:

(a) The Band Director is blaming the flute for an inadequate range of dynamics. This is possibly the case if the flute head is worse than that found in a typical student flute eg Yamaha 211. Some students have difficulty making Gemeinhardts play adequately loudly.

(b) The Band Director is blaming the flute for intonation problems. Very few flutes have intonation that is so bad that a reasonable player can't play most notes adequately in tune - allowing for some use of alternant fingering in the top octave.

(c) The tone for certain solos is disappointing. Some flutes are more responsive and easier to play expressively or with a better/fuller tone.

At least in the UK, it is now customary to change to a better "intermediate" flute when a student proceeds to Associated Board of Royal School of Music (ASRSM) grade 6 and beyond - normally after playing for several years. I'm not entirely convinced that this enables them to get better marks in future exams or play better - but the converse is definately true: if your flute isn't responsive or you can't play a full dynamic range on it (and neither can your teacher) then you will need a better flute - not necessarily "new"!

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What flute are you playing now? How long have you been playing?

As i dont know much about flute i couldnt give u any names and models, but i do know open hole allows a nicer sound and if u do have problems with finger positioning you can always plug them with rubber(they come with your flute)

Unfortunately, that's not quite right, Llen. We've discussed this many times before, but French (open hole) keys do not have any affect on sound. They allow extended effects like bends or multiphonics, some notes into the fourth octave, and pitch shading. The difference you attribute to the holes is because open hole flutes are generally (but not always) of higher quality, and changes in their design and manufacture are what are causing the difference in the sound, not the holes.

Hmmm...I shall have words to my teacher

Hmmmm.... if i were you i would not get a new flute.... If yours is in good condition then why get a new one just because you band teacher says you should.

I agree with Willow, it only matters what u think of your flute and how it plays.

As we grow as musicians, it's important that our equipment be able to perform as we need it to. Assuming the teacher has a valid reason for wanting you to get a new flute, I would take their advice. If it's a "Why not?" kind of thing, certainly consider sticking with what you've got, but if he has concerns about your current instrument's ability to play like you need it to (perhaps tone or intonation issues or something else that is holding you back or will hold you back in short order that you're not currently aware of), then consider upgrading. I don't know what your musical aspirations are, but if you intend to make a career of it, unfortunately it's not just what you think of the flute and the sound that matters. After all, we don't get paid to play for ourselves (though that would be nice). Your teacher likely has your best interests in mind, and I would suggest giving their idea some thought.

I got a new flute last summer and my sound sounded way more rich! My flute teacher told me this about the price of flutes. You keep taking steps up and each time you do it gets more expensive and the flute gets better quality. Like for example, first you may just have a student flute made from metal. Then you may get an open hole. Then a silver headjoint. Then the whole thing silver. Then you can start adding gold (the mouth piece, the keys ect.). I have a completly silver, open hole yamaha. #481 roman numeral 2. I really like it!! I would recommend an open hole. You can get cork to put in the holes till you learn to cover them better. Plus it makes your sound way better! Hope that helps!!!

Catgal, as I mentioned above, open holes do not have any effect on how the flute sounds. The reason open hole flutes generally (but not always) sound better than student fltues (which are almost always plateau) is the difference in quality. Plenty of pros play on plateau keyed instruments, and sound fantastic doing so.

my first open hole was my moms old flute. it was 30 years old. but I sounded better on it then on my closed hole?!?!?!?!?!? so in this situation the open hole wasn't really better. i'd love to hear your opinion. thanx.

So...if you have cork plugs in your open holes, your open hole flute still sounds better because it is an open hole flute? That makes NO sense at all.
If an open hole flute sounds better than a closed hole flute, it is because the design and engineering of the open hole flute is better, not because of its open holes.
Does a C sound 'more open' and better than an Eb on your open hole flute? Think about it- all of the open-hole keys are covered for Eb, so any difference in sound quality cannot be attributed to the open hole keys.
Open hole or 'french' keys are standard on upgrade and pro flutes in the U.S. Therefore, most of the better made flutes that one comes across in the U.S. have open holes.
I'd rather play a closed-hole flute made by, say, Miyazawa or Brannen than an open-hole Gemeinhardt any day. And you can buy one for about 25% less money than a comparable open hole flute precisely because of the misinformed mob of flute shoppers out there.

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Catgal, your Mom's 30 year old flute was probably better designed than your closed hole, student flute.
Incidentally, there are some student flutes that play very well, especially with a pro headjoint in them. My backup flute is a student-model Pearl which fits my pro headjoints. Our local symphony principal used that $400 Pearl with my $2500 Powell wood headjoint for the summer music festival.
And by the way, a Yamaha 481II is a highly recommended, well designed upgrade flute. The ones I have played sound/respond much better than the fancy solid silver, pointed key arms, gold mouthpiece/riser Gemeinhardts that I have played.

then i guess i'm part of that misinformed flute mob. do you guys have royal conservatory of music (RCM) exams in the US?? i know i'm kind of switching the topic, but i take it that you do live in the US?!?! THanx.

Surprisingly, when I was first chairin concert band last year, the director made no comment about my flute although I was playing on a Geminhardt(sp?) 2sp. I am in wind ensemble this year with a Yamaha 684 that I just got last summer...