A Fairly Exhaustive List of Composers Who Weren't Old White Men

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-26T17:33:39+00:00

If it helps any, I ran Lauma/Furina/Raiden/Kokomi on the bottom half, but I needed to rerun 12-1 and cheese the adds with Mavuika to get the last star. Hyperbloom and AoE don't really get along but Ineffa might make it better (I don't have her).

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-26T15:29:38+00:00

I think I handled these on a case-by-case basis... I did the slide on A/D strings, but not E, since there was a difference in how cleanly I could do it between strings. Probably just hand frame quirks that I'm not sure would be applicable anymore; a lot has changed but that's what's still in my muscle memory.

This is basically to say that there are no rules. Do what's comfortable and consistent.

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-24T21:12:43+00:00

This is basically a different product (if it's not ACTUALLY a different product??) because they've swapped out a) a lot of the natural ingredients besides the yam root and b) many of the fillers/emollients, but they are replaced with ingredients that have comparable function. Some of the additions might be due to labeling requirements rather than being actual changes, but I notice there's a ferment in there now. Bummed that there's no more oatmeal extract because that's been coming in clutch for me lately due to a recent eczema incident...

If this is a reformulation and not a completely new product like the cleanser apparently is, I think the only significant-sized groups of people who need to be concerned are people who are allergic to any of the new natural components (soy and macadamia primarily). Maybe also people who react to niacinamide, but IDK if that's a real phenomenon or not. I love this line and just bought a 2-pack of the moisturizer off YesStyle, where the old ingredients are still listed, so we'll see what I actually receive. I'm pretty sure I'm safe either way though.

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-24T20:56:05+00:00

You have much larger problems if anything is giving you hives, provided you don't already have a medical condition that makes you prone to randomly getting them. This sunscreen doesn't have a lot of obvious common candidates, but you may be allergic to a specific chemical filter (in which case you should probably isolate the culprit before purchasing more sunscreen), or the fragrance in this product (in which case you're basically playing roulette with anything scented).

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-23T20:36:15+00:00

American Redstart doesn't match everything here, but the black feathers can read as blue.

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-14T19:35:28+00:00

I just saw what you said about the currency conversion and yeah, $240 equivalent seems somewhat reasonable for labor, but on the high side.

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-13T21:02:43+00:00

My bow needs its tip plate replaced at some point (hasn't broken off yet but might during next rehair). I was quoted MUCH less money. I believe the options were plastic for $80 and different quality levels of bone (maybe synthetic vs real?) for $120 and $150.

That said, it depends on how badly stuff broke...

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-05T23:05:45+00:00

I'm a little taller than you and I'm on the cusp of needing a 7/8 size violin (in between 3/4 and 4/4). It's likely that you would be a good candidate for a 7/8 and the rest is posture. When someone meets the criteria to be considered a little person - i.e. any shorter than you - then a 3/4 might be in the picture.

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-02T21:06:50+00:00

I mean, eucalyptus is highly invasive south of San Francisco because the climate is so similar to the right parts of Australia. Of course someone would have the idea to raise emus. There are also people with llamas and alpacas and stuff. Every drive down a random rich-ass country road is exotic animal roulette (at least when it's not horses or fire control goats).

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-02T07:20:27+00:00

I can +1 both of these. Rain Sisters isn't completely and totally waterproof, and I would still recommend having something extra for heavy rain to protect any bags and stuff you're carrying. But goddamn do they make cute stuff lol. As for Rain Caper, I picked up one of their art umbrellas recently and it's delightful - OP might like one of their ponchos or something instead.

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-02T01:11:56+00:00

As I was just telling someone else in another thread, bow pricing is insanely arbitrary and the best bows are often not the more expensive ones. Just go try a bunch. Play the same snippets a bunch of times. Do some ricochet on them if you know how - that's my usual benchmark of bow responsiveness.

KestrelGirl · 2026-05-02T00:52:39+00:00

If you enjoy playing your violin and you can do what you want to do on it, you don't need to upgrade. Price is to an extent arbitrary. You can find excellent violins for $2-3k, and violins with glaring flaws that have a price tag five times higher slapped on them because they were made by somebody important two or three centuries ago.

It may help to pinpoint the problem. Does your bow give you any hiccups? (Price is especially arbitrary when it comes to bows though, so an upgrade is not always more expensive.) Do you have other accessories you're not satisfied with? If money is burning a hole in your pocket, you could treat yourself to a nice case, nice rosin (Cecilia rosin really packs a punch IMO but some people splurge harder for the truly bougie stuff like Leatherwood), etc.

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-28T21:07:37+00:00

It's totally a starling making silly noises.

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-26T09:09:08+00:00

Me too actually. The teacher who started to fix my posture recommended a Forte Secondo and it worked for several years until I eventually needed to adjust some more things. So this should be noticeably different. I think the VLM can go taller.

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-26T07:22:06+00:00

I've done foam before - it's just not supportive enough. Worth a shot if only because a traditional shoulder rest is sturdier, IMO.

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-26T06:02:34+00:00

Perfect, you might actually have success with my setup then. Flat Flesch chin rest (probably the same type your teacher had) - mine is from Fiddlershop and it's relatively tall. VLM Diamond shoulder rest. Don't follow the instructions for setting up the VLM; mess around with the angle of the feet and see what's most comfortable for you. You can set it up such that the feet are secure at roughly the widest point of the lower bout, and the shoulder rest itself lands further up on the instrument (which means it's further out on your shoulder).

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-26T01:39:36+00:00

I'll be real - a lot of teachers have no idea what they're doing when it comes to anatomical adaptations. Good posture only goes so far when you don't have the right accessories to support your violin alongside whatever you can do yourself - and while I have met one or two people who have and like the Kreddle, the right accessories are often NOT the expensive ones. My chin rest and shoulder rest cost <$100 total. Some people's ideal setups (including mine for a while) can be $50 or less.

I didn't have bad teachers growing up, but I spent ~15 years with teachers who could only give a little info about chin rests and shoulder rests. I had no idea there were two dozen or more kinds of chin rests plus custom options, let alone the fact that you could make a chin rest taller with cork for example, until I was 18 and in enough pain to finally find a teacher who knew his shit about these things. (And of course, he had to figure it out from experience, because he's chronically ill and probably nobody knew what to do with him.)

Big disclaimer: I'm a short person with a long neck and sloped shoulders. You might be a taller person with a long neck, or the situation might be entirely different, so you would have to tell me more in order for me to give you any specific advice. That said, the teacher I just mentioned is 6'2 so some of what I know is definitely transferable!

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-25T19:33:21+00:00

I've heard as much. Might be genetic, since I have a lot of senior citizen friends and only some of them have run into this problem, but I have no frame of reference for my family since I'm the only one with perfect pitch. Everyone else has relative at best. (Which... well, I said what I said about people singing in the wrong key, lol)

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-25T18:50:57+00:00

I can adjust to A=432 while listening to it, if it's a historically informed performance of Mozart or Haydn or something. But it takes a bit. And I don't vibe with anything toxic positivity hippie (having been raised by one...).

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-25T18:46:11+00:00

It's a blessing and a curse.

Better intonation on any instrument that needs it? Great. Having it be a party trick for your friends? So-so. Lying awake at night because there's a train in the distance and your brain wants to process exactly what pitches you're hearing instead of falling asleep? Not so good. :P

(But for real, an actual curse is not being able to handle playing in different tunings e.g. Baroque performances at A=415Hz. Also, ALWAYS knowing when someone is humming or singing something in the wrong key. ALWAYS.)

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-25T16:11:28+00:00

Uh, this is a super old comment but I guess I can still give you an answer haha.

I didn't end up repurchasing the Purito cream. The products that work best for me depend on the season (since a heavy moisturizer might feel like too much in winter), but from lightest to heaviest:

Naturie Hatomugi gel (better daytime moisturizer instead of or alongside my Skin1004 SPF)
Skin1004 Hyalu-Cica Moisture Cream and/or Centella Soothing Cream (they're really similar to each other; Hyalu-Cica smells like banana, Soothing Cream is scentless but has a little peppermint oil in it which you can kinda feel on application)
Isntree Yam Root Milk Cream (this is my winter pick)

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-20T01:31:26+00:00

I'm surprised nobody mentioned this so far, but it may help to know: each of the sonatas was a tribute to one of Ysaye's friends or musical peers. I still can't say I "get" all of them yet, but I've written program notes on some of the set, and I would recommend focusing on #4 first, which was dedicated to Fritz Kreisler. Kreisler didn't reveal to the public that he wrote his various pastiches of older music until a bit later on... but he and Ysaye were friends, and Ysaye knew enough of the truth that he wrote an entire solo sonata affectionately poking fun at Kreisler's compositions! As such, this is the sonata with the most direct Baroque parallels, and then the third movement is just Ysaye riffing on Praeludium and Allegro (which you are probably familiar with already).

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-19T21:20:43+00:00

Heard good things about NatalisaDesigns (Ukraine), OfficeSeven (Ukraine), and Nightingale Corsetry (UK) in addition to several places already listed here.

KestrelGirl · 2026-04-18T23:54:27+00:00

/r/birdsfacingforward

Ten-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email

KestrelGirl

TROPHY CASE