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My fingers seem to go NUMB when playing for a while be it Viddle or Guitar > I shake it off and play again > But I haven't figured out why they go NUMB > this can't be good.
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You ain't alone Dog... mine do too sometimes, usually after I have over exerted myself and caused a pinched nerve in my middle back, right between my shoulder blades.
I lay on the floor and have my daughter "pop" by back right there and then I'm good to go once again.
I also get them going numb ridin' my motorcycles as well, that's how I know my back needs adjusted.
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
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Are you too tense? Is your form perfect? Are you gripping the violin neck? How is your posture?
I was having a weird pain in my hand - Teach at one of my lessons helped me reposition the violin on my shoulder and adjust my hand hold on the neck and sit up straight. The pain was quickly relieved.
Teach helped me realize that the reason for all the concern about how you hold the violin, bow, sit, etc. is as much about getting the best sound as about being comfortable, free of tension and having the ability to play for long periods with NO PAIN. She did also say that we must al find the most comfortable position for ourselves with the perfect positions and holds are just a starting point.
While the positions and holds felt really weird for me at first I am able to jam for 3 hours straight with no difficulty.
Violinist start date - May 2013
Fiddler start date - May 2014
FIDDLE- Gift from a dear friend. A 1930-40 german copy, of a french copy of a Stradivarius. BOW - $50 carbon fiber. Strings - Dominants with E Pirastro Gold string.
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@Schaick
I have no pain > Vodka takes care of that. > no, my hand just goes numb > like asleep. I stop for a while shake it off and I am back on the Viddle. Happens when I play my guitar sometimes also > So I have to eliminate form, being tense, etc.
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Dang.. bummer about the numbness.
I had it in my right pinky for quite a long time. Before Violin.. from some other activity.. it has gone away.
If it only happens when you are playing violin, I would think you could experiment with different holds.
I know a lot of the pain I had in hands, arms and shoulders from playing violin went away after 7-8 months.
Good luck.
@Schaick - great points from your teach.
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
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I have no pain.
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If it is your left arm/hand, and you also notice it when playing guitar, you may be holding the upper part of your left arm too close to the body when playing. It can cut off some of the circulation to the arm and hand when you do that. I have found moving the arm out even a little bit helps.
Sometimes the shirt or style/size of shirt you wear when playing also makes a difference. The way the armpit of the shirt is cut. Ever notice that some seriously scrawny guitar players sometimes are wearing oversize t-shirts and etc when playing? Maybe sometimes it is fashion, but sometimes it is definitely to have a looser fit around the arm.
I run into that problem sometimes when playing too, StoneDog. That's what works for me. That and remembering to stretch and shake out the arm/hand once in a while between songs, but that is good practice to help keep tension from building up anyway. Give it a try. Hope it works for ya.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
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Thank you @DanielB > I think you just hit on something there. The too close to the body thing > It clicks > Thanks > I'm a gonna give it a try cause I do that.
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I've had that happen to me a few times too. Usually when I have stressed my arm doing something else then play the violin. Mostly with my right arm.
I think it's normal when the circulation is limited and you should probably shake it off as soon as it happens but also try to find more relaxing positions. The Vodka can help with that. LOL
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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You heard it here first folks. Vodka for relaxed violin playing. I will try this out and let you all know. 
All in the name of research of course.
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
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Fun is fun. But all kidding aside, using alcohol to relieve pain or discomfort isn't really usually the best idea. It is numbness of it's own sort, and letting it mask something like numbness or pain rather than looking for a cause and dealing with it could result in permanent damage.
Sorry to be the wet blanket on humor, but I felt it best if somebody mentioned that.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
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Not a solution for pain but it can help a performance if a player who is not used to playing in front of an audience can't relax and is super tense about it. Not trying to encourage it, but if you are an "experienced" drinker and know how to drink responsibly, a drink before a not so significant performance can either help you relax and play better or mess up your senses to the point that you can't play or even think your playing better when in fact you are not.
This differs for everyone.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Honorary advisor
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In my case a couple of cups of strong coffee seems to help me somewhat. I guess the stimulant effect of the caffeine speeds up my reaction time and seems to enable me to play very fast parts with far fewer mistakes. Alcohol slows down my reaction time too much and makes it more difficult to play fast while avoiding mistakes.
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