Finger Hole Size

Erin, the difference in hole size I imagine won't be that considerable. The standard in hole size for a kinko flute is 11 mm and 10 mm for hole number 3. When it comes to 'shading' notes for meri the difference between the amount shaded on a slightly larger hole to that on a standard hole is insignificant and shouldn't pose any problem whatsoever. Larger holes on smaller flutes (1.6 and smaller) could create a problem though. In terms of volume, I don't think that you'll notice that much difference now. Older Tozan flutes typically have smaller hole diameters than kinko flutes and I have played many that have great volume and project wonderfully. In short, I don't think that any challenge a larger hole size poses is a bad thing.

Jeff, that is a very thorough and helpful answer - thank you!

Smaller holes means sweeter tone usually. The most important thing is that the holes are the right size for YOUR hands and that you're able to execute the meri notes easily. This means different things to different people.

I think a key point to grasp from Brian's post is that there actually is a certain amount of leeway when it comes to hole size and geometry which makes it possible for a person to think in terms of personal comfort/capability to some extent and still achieve the same or similar results to others who may have other physical demands and who play flutes of a slightly different geometry.

Yes Jeff, I have a few flutes which I keep because of their incredible tone and enjoy playing despite the fact that they are too thin and too small holes for me to really feel comfortable. But if a person or their hands were smaller they wouldn't notice a thing. Likewise there's no point in playing flutes that sound good but you have difficulty closing the holes with small hands. There is also a relationship between the hole size and the bore size. Generally these two work together, in other words flutes with big holes and a big bore are nice and flutes with a small bore speak well with small holes. I've seen exceptions with small bore and large holes but I've never seen a flute with a huge bore and small holes that I liked. Depends what kind of tone you're aiming for.

Well said Brian. The reason I wanted to point this out is that especially for relatively new learners, it's hard to know where black and white become grey. Your comment above sheds light on this and I suspect will serve to give people a better understanding.

Aren't there acoustical properties associated with hole size other than loudness, sweetness, and such? For example, I think I remember reading somewhere that Irish flutes with their larger finger holes are louder than baroque flutes mostly because of the finger hole size, but on Irish flutes the cross fingerings (for F natural, Bb, Ab, etc.) don't work as well as on baroque flutes at least in part because of the difference in finger hole size. Since Erin originally asked about the hole size because of a need to upgrade, would this be something to take into consideration?

Hi Charlie, as pointed out above, yes there are acoustical properties related to hole size, however Erin's question was regarding possible physical challenges that might exist in changing proportional aspects from one flute to another and would that be something that one should consider. It seems that her shakuhachi is somewhat proportionally non-standard and she was thinking of moving toward what would probably be considered standard. I personally think this is a good direction to go rather than in the other direction. She is relatively at an early stage of this game and the change now wouldn't be bad. It would certainly give useful perspective. Of course, many other things should be considered when buying a flute, but those other things might best be discussed from direct questions.