Open hole
An empty hole in a wind-instrument fingering diagram means that the indicated tone hole or key is open. The diagram's layout, not the circle alone, identifies the physical hole.
- Wind and brass signs
- Above the note
- A circle
Do not confuse it with
A filled circle means closed; an ordinary small circle above a staff note may instead be a harmonic or other technique.
What the sources say
- SMuFL — Wind techniques
windOpenHole — Open hole
- MusicXML — hole element
The hole-closed type represents whether the hole is closed, open, or half-open.
- How Do Woodwind Instruments Work?
the effective length is changed by opening and closing finger-holes or keyholes along the side.