I re-read your first post. About the foot, a B foot is harder for a beginner to play and unless you are doing flute solo literature, it's rare you would need it. But I would not reject a flute that had it, and you can grow longer on one.

Open hole gives perhaps a better tone. Can you punch out the keys? No. But, I go the other way. Not being a full-time classically trained flautist, I use corks in two of the open holes where my fingers don't quite cover the keys correctly (and that's essential, on an open hole). Again, closed hole is easier to learn on but the flute instructor will want you to move to an open hole after a time.

Alto flute? A gorgeous instrument. Mine is an Emerson. I'm on several recordings playing this, since it blends under a female vocal just beautifully. The trick is not to overblow it; it will not respond. But I wouldn't exactly call it a "new" instrument in the sense of it being different from soprano (regular) flute. You should be able to play both if you can play one, assuming you have strong air support. The alto flute would be useless for a beginner in a band, though; no literature.

One of the reasons I did not like the Yamaha key placement was it would have made me stumble when switching back and forth from my alto to soprano flute, and I did not like taking that chance.

BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Roland Integra-7, Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.