Open Hole Help

lula · Post by **lula** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 12:05 pm

Yesterday I took a few of the plugs out of my flute so I could try and play open hole and I keep getting this weird sound and I guess I'm not covering the holes completely. Can anyone help?

fluteguy18 · Post by **fluteguy18** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 2:49 pm

If you want to learn how to play with open holes, the fastest way is literally to take them all out at once, and get rid of them. Or hide them. I know several people who have had success this way and they all recommend the same method. After being able to cover all of them at the same time, you can then start putting specific ones back in if you feel that you need the plugs.

You just have to practice making sure you cover all the holes when you play. There's not really a trick to it. When I got my first open hole flute it didn't come with plugs, and I had to get rid of my closed hole flute to finance the new one. So I had to learn how to play open hole all at the same time. There wasn't any other way to do it in my situation.

The only tips I have are that you MUST close the holes with the pads of your fingers. If you try playing with flat fingers (as is common with young players) the pads of your fingers won't close the keys. Therefore you can't seal the holes. So make sure your fingers are nicely curved to line up your finger pads correctly.

lula · Post by **lula** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 3:42 pm

Thank you so much. I really want to get this flute to work without the plugs. I think I may just take all the plugs out at once so I'll have no choice but to play it that way.