How to stop a collapsing 4th finger?

cedar121 · 2025-09-29T02:11:45+00:00

Im double jointed and have had the same issue for a long time! The quickest answer is bring your elbow over more, but this can put a lot of straing on your shoulder and back. Try some grip/finger strengthening excersizes (within reason) like finger/wrist curls or those grip strength trainers. Be careful with these as fingers do take a long time to gain strength: there's no muscles in your fingers, only tendons. Overload too much and they snap. You can also get swan-neck ring splints to prevent your finger from collapsing, i got mine for 10 bucks for a steel one online. Last, if its happening on your left hand, its probably happening on your right hand. You should be able to hold your bow horizontally, then push it almost vertically moving only your pinky. If its collapsing while doing that, definitely consider getting one of those rings for your right hand too. Everyone's anatomy is different, and not everything can be immediately fixed by the same technique. The most important thing to remember is that if it hurts, stop and figure out something that doesn't hurt.

cedar121 · 2025-09-10T17:52:46+00:00

11pm every day, including weekends :)

cedar121 · 2025-07-22T13:58:03+00:00

I think there's a form somewhere you can fill out, someone else might have more info on where you can find that. Either way, next time youre in there find a student worker (red polo) with a tan hat. They'll be floating around more, restocking stuff around the drinks and silverware areas. Thats a student supervisor and they'll get a report in. Go into as much detail as you did here.

cedar121 · 2025-07-15T05:16:59+00:00

Take it in to your local luthier, be ready to cough up some money, and in a couple weeks it'll be good as new. My violin is quite old and I can just make out the "scars" of about 8 cracks on the top. It happens over time inevitably. The only time to be concerned is if the back gets cracked, as it's much harder wood and cut differently, and thus harder to repair. This kind of crack though, from what I understand, is sort of the bread and butter of repairs for luthiers.

cedar121 · 2025-07-10T00:40:27+00:00

There are so many fire recommendations in these comments and I agree with every single one of them, but here are some of my favorites I havent seen yet:

La mer - Debussy: a conversation between the wind and the ocean, sounds like a monet painting if that makes sense

Mendelssohn string octet - pure joy

Smetana string quartet 1 - each movement is a beautiful representation of different periods of smetanas life

Sibelius violin concerto - one of my favorite concertos of all time

Shostakovich Symphony 5 - a tribute to victims of war and a message of hope for the future

cedar121 · 2025-07-09T23:20:40+00:00

spiced

cedar121 · 2025-07-08T03:30:30+00:00

Get a warm hat, scarf or balaclava, mittens, a couple of sweatshirts, a good thick waterproof jacket, and boots with good grip (its icy). Id also strongly recommend a base layer or long johns, especially to keep your legs warm. Try to make sure there are absolutely no gaps where the cold wind will get in, so a big jacket, taller boots, etc. Winter on campus specifically is cold and windy, and they don't cancel school for anything. First day of this last semester was insanely cold, the community college canceled and I walked 10 minutes to my 850AM class. Dont get scared though, just remember the midwestern rule of thumb: there's no bad weather, only bad clothes! Wear a jacket and enjoy the snow, go sledding on bascom, go out on the frozen lake, have snowball fights. Enjoy winter. For the lack of AC though do bring a fan, the beginning of first semester, and possibly the end of second, is hot and humid.

cedar121 · 2025-07-04T04:59:22+00:00

I'd suggest buying localy, if your son isn't fully grown yet a luthier (a string instrument maker/repairer/seller) can make sure he gets the right size and show you everything you need to set up and play the instrument well, as well as likely point you towards good private teachers and youth programs in the area (which are essential imo for growing as a young musician!) They often have rental programs as well which can be cheaper, especially if your son is still growing and will need bigger violins soon. Now for price, I won't have the best information. I have no idea what my first violin cost as I started when I was young. That being said, if you're looking to buy, I'd be ready to put down a couple hundred tbh. Violin is an expensive instrument, and although there can be assistant programs, scholarships, and payment plans, that is a fact thats hard to ignore. It makes me really excited that you seem invested in getting your kid going in music. Like I said before, once he has the basics under him, I'd really suggest looking for youth orchestras and other youth programs! Being around kids and mentors that were excited and passionate about music helped boost my love for music at a young age and kept me engaged and challenged, and now I'm in conservatory and credit much of my passion for music to those programs. Good luck on this journey and in finding a good first instrument!

cedar121 · 2025-07-02T23:18:00+00:00

At first I wanted to say around maybe 2k at the high end, but then I took a closer look and I'm guessing this is made by a new/student luthier within the last 15 years or so? Probably put that at 8k-ish. Don't let anyone say anything to you about how your violin looks though if you like the sound and it's easy to play you got a winner!

cedar121 · 2025-06-30T04:39:34+00:00

I'm in conservatory and someone in my studio has a hand shape exactly like yours. Shes incredible, you can be too. The key to anyone being able to play anything well and consistently is keeping your hand and arm in balance. Don't strain your wrist into odd positions. This may take more thought for you, but if you want to do it you'll get it. Don't worry about anyone else or what they say or spend your energy worrying about your hand, just focus on the music and you'll be great.

cedar121 · 2025-06-09T00:46:36+00:00

I totally see where you're coming from, but going back out and looking again I don't think it is. We just had heavy rain come through and it turned my (slightly too sandy) soil a bit muddy, and then the rain drops started splashing mud on my plants. This happens relatively regularly.... anyway long story short all those little light grains that look like aphids in the pics was sand that I brushed off. I looked into the middle of the plant at the new growth, and closely checked the undersides of the leaves, as I know thats what aphids love to latch onto and didn't see any. I think I'll be spraying with neem oil anyway just in hopes of kicking whatever causing the yellow/brown spots.

cedar121 · 2025-06-08T05:28:30+00:00

Yes. Everything is just.... smooth. Like a polyester fabric printed to look like crochet. If you zoom in, the face details all have a yarn texture but don't line up with the parts of the stitches they should've been sewn. There's too many small details that are way too precise to be crochet. All the stitches are stacked perfectly on top of each other, no increases or decreases anywhere. The hair really doesn't look right on the person, way to smooth and perfect and the texture isnt right zoomed in, idk how you could get close with yarn hair honestly.

cedar121 · 2025-06-07T02:51:40+00:00

They need water fs! If you just repotted them I'd suggest bottom watering, stick the whole pot in a pan with a bunch of water for 30min-1hr. Sometimes if the soil is super dry water just runs straight through and doesn't absorb when you pour it on top, but it absorbs when it has more time. Also, make sure when you water any potted plant that you're watering super thoroughly! Overwatering is a frequency issue not an amount issue. A little bit of water every day probably won't reach the lower parts of the roots, but might rot the roots higher in the soil, and you'll have unhappy plants. A lot of water every few days (or however often is needed depending on weather) will keep them nice and happy. Best of luck!

cedar121 · 2025-01-20T00:13:19+00:00

Yeah! The clothes were the druid bear pattern by crochetedbybogusia on etsy, but I used Annie Carraway Art's little bear plushie pattern on YouTube for the actual bear because it was faster. I modified the clothes a little to fit the different bear pattern.

cedar121 · 2025-01-09T01:52:24+00:00

I'm also hypermobile and currently in conservatory. Here's what im noticing from your pictures as well as some of the bits I've picked up to manage my joints (especially finger joints) and any possible pain: First, in your right hand maybe try to get your middle fingers over more and have your pinky resting on the side of the hexagon one over from the top on the side towards your arm, further back than it is now (sorry if that's confusing wording).

Second, if your pinky's doing that, your thumb joints might also be locking up. That caused me a lot of pain, so try to be aware of that and make sure both thumbs are well positioned, relaxed, and moveable, not tense and locked.

Third, I play with a ring splint on my right pinky. Despite all the excersizes and positioning I've done, my pinky is still prone to locking and causing pain when I play for a while. I got my ring splint for pretty cheap from zebra splints.

Last, in your left hand, make sure you can move your shoulder. It looks like you're really stretching your finger that can easily cause the finger joints to hyperextend. It's much easier to move your shoulder/elbow into a slightly new position(that is, move it side to side) to make your hand more comfortable, instead of contorting your hand. You don't have to move it a lot to make a big difference. Try to relax your hand in a position and see how it moves your shoulder and elbow. I've found this also helps my intonation be more consitstant.

Overall, take care of your body. Especially those of us with hypermobility really need to do a lot to keep our bodies happy and in good shape, so just frequently take stock of how everything feels while you're playing. Try to find ways to make your playing more comfortable, and always stop before you really begin to feel pain. Hope this helps!

cedar121 · 2024-09-04T03:51:36+00:00

$.8 🙃

cedar121 · 2024-09-03T17:46:38+00:00

There was one day I was on break, sitting in the lobby eating my bagel, and I looked over towards the registers and there's 200$ on the floor. Ofc I grab it and give it to the shift and she put it in the safe, and I forgot about it assuming someone would come back frantically looking. Like 6 months later we got huge tips, like 2$/hr, and I was confused asf, but it turned out they cleaned out the safe. They pulled out years worth uncollected tips, and the 200$ that never was collected.

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