The Mind Over Finger Podcast

You practiced it a thousand times. You knew it cold. And then you walked on stage and something vanished. If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. Renee breaks down one of the most frustrating and misunderstood experiences in a musician's life: the gap between how you play in the practice room and how you play under pressure. More importantly, she explains exactly why it happens and why practicing more is often not the answer.
In this episode:
·         Why the practice room and the stage are literally different brain states, and what that means for how you prepare
·         The Yerkes-Dodson law and what it reveals about pressure, performance, and the sweet spot most musicians blow right past
·         Why cortisol is not your enemy but why it makes you blank on passages you know perfectly well
·         The concept of context-dependent memory and why your hard-earned skills can feel strangely out of reach the moment the context changes
·         The question most musicians never ask after a disappointing performance, and why asking the wrong one keeps the gap firmly in place
·         A simple but powerful reflection to try before your next practice session that begins to close the gap for good
Are you ready to take your playing and career to the next level and create a life that feels purposeful and joyful? If you're ready to step on stage with confidence, perform at your best, and finally feel secure in your playing, join the Musician's Edge Challenge.
 
Join the Musician's Edge Challenge HERE
If you're ready to step on stage with confidence, perform at your best, and finally feel secure in your playing, let's talk! Book a free discovery call and let's create a plan to get you there.
Are you ready to take your playing and career to the next level and create a life that feels purposeful and joyful? Let's connect and explore how personalized coaching can support your journey. Click here to schedule your free consultation, and let's start turning your goals into reality.
 
Book your FREE Music Mastery Experience Discovery call with Renée HERE
Book your free consultation with Renée HERE
Download the transcript from this episode HERE
 
Mind Over Finger
Click www.mindoverfinger.com/coaching to book your free consultation with me.
Visit MindOverFinger.com for my online courses as well as free resources on peak performance.
Grab my free workshops and PDF downloads by going to www.mindoverfinger.com/resources.
Connect:
https://www.youtube.com/@MindOverFinger
https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfinger
https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/
 
 
THANK YOU:
Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme:  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson.

What if the thing holding back your performance had nothing to do with how many hours you practice? Gunnery Sergeant Shannon Kiewitt, clarinetist with "The President's Own" United States Marine Band and fitness coach for musicians, has spent years performing at the highest level without a single performance-related injury. In this conversation, she shares exactly how fitness transforms not just your body, but your sound, your confidence, and your career.
In this episode:
·         Why posture and physical imbalances affect the way you sound
·         The truth about weightlifting and musicians
·         How fitness builds endurance, focus, and mental resilience on stage
·         What a realistic fitness routine looks like for a musician's unpredictable schedule
·         How competing in a bodybuilding show helped Shannon conquer performance anxiety
·         One simple thing you can start doing today
 
Are you ready to take your playing and career to the next level and create a life that feels purposeful and joyful? If you're ready to step on stage with confidence, perform at your best, and finally feel secure in your playing, join the Musician's Edge Challenge.
 
Join the Musician's Edge Challenge HERE
Book your free consultation with Renée HERE
Download the transcript from this episode HERE
 
SHANNON KIEWITT
Bio: https://www.marineband.marines.mil/About/Members/Article/2605066/gunnery-sgt-shannon-kiewitt/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefitclarinetist/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@shannonfitwit
Work with Shannon: https://www.trainerize.me/profile/getfitwithshannonkiewitt/Shannon.Kiewitt?fbclid=IwAR0nBm45UVE4SSUWHRaaAJVgCYpp4rmNFNkxqqTrGmUe9sd37fOreyP1P5A&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio
 
 
Mind Over Finger
Click www.mindoverfinger.com/coaching to book your free consultation with me.
Visit MindOverFinger.com for my online courses as well as free resources on peak performance.
Grab my free workshops and PDF downloads by going to www.mindoverfinger.com/resources.
Connect:
https://www.youtube.com/@MindOverFinger
https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfinger
https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/
 
 
THANK YOU:
Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme:  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson.

You're putting in the hours. You're showing up. So why does it still feel like nothing is moving? This episode gets right to the heart of that frustration and offers a way out.
 
In this episode:
·         Why repetition without intention reinforces the problem, not the solution
·         The real difference between practicing notes and practicing performance
·         How the inner critic silently derails your practice session
·         The one thing to write down before you pick up your instrument
Are you ready to take your playing and career to the next level and create a life that feels purposeful and joyful? If you're ready to step on stage with confidence, perform at your best, and finally feel secure in your playing, join the Musician's Edge Challenge.
 
Join the Musician's Edge Challenge HERE
Book your free consultation with Renée HERE
Download the transcript from this episode HERE
 
Mind Over Finger
Click www.mindoverfinger.com/coaching to book your free consultation with me.
Visit MindOverFinger.com for my online courses as well as free resources on peak performance.
Grab my free workshops and PDF downloads by going to www.mindoverfinger.com/resources.
Connect:
https://www.youtube.com/@MindOverFinger
https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfinger
https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/
 
 
THANK YOU:
Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme:  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson.

If you've ever felt your body work against you in a performance, if tension, fear, or a loss of control has crept into your playing and you don't know why, and if you've wondered whether it can actually get better, this episode is for you. Gabriel Radford, Third Horn of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, was diagnosed with focal dystonia at the height of his career. He came back playing better than before, and co-founded the Embouchure Project to help other musicians do the same. This conversation is honest, practical, and full of things musicians rarely hear spoken out loud.
What you'll take away:
·         Why fear can show up long before a playing problem becomes visible, and what that early signal means
·         What neuroscience tells us about why the body stops cooperating, and how to reverse it
·         Why rigid practice routines may be working against you
·         The one daily habit that can rewire your relationship with your instrument
·         What the Embouchure Project is
·         And much more!
If you're ready to step on stage with confidence, perform at your best, and finally feel secure in your playing, let's talk! Book a free discovery call and let's create a plan to get you there.
Are you ready to take your playing and career to the next level and create a life that feels purposeful and joyful? Let's connect and explore how personalized coaching can support your journey. Click here to schedule your free consultation, and let's start turning your goals into reality.
 
Book your FREE Music Mastery Experience Discovery call with Renée HERE
Book your free consultation with Renée HERE
Download the transcript from this episode HERE
 
GABRIEL RADFORD AND THE EMBOUCHURE PROJECT
Bio: https://www.tso.ca/about/orchestra/members-of-the-orchestra/gabriel-radford
Website: https://www.theembouchureproject.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theembouchureproject/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/881319796540674/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEmbouchureProject
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jOd5wjakuvJmZuiaGoKqP
 
 
Mind Over Finger
Click www.mindoverfinger.com/coaching to book your free consultation with me.
Visit MindOverFinger.com for my online courses as well as free resources on peak performance.
Grab my free workshops and PDF downloads by going to www.mindoverfinger.com/resources.
Connect:
https://www.youtube.com/@MindOverFinger
https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfinger
https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/
 
 
THANK YOU:
Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme:  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson.

You walk out of a rehearsal replaying every mistake. You sit down to practice and the voice in your head says, it should be better by now. You open Instagram and somehow everyone else seems more confident, more established, further along. This episode is for that moment. Renée shares a short, honest pep talk for musicians navigating doubt and the uncomfortable gap between where they are and where they wish they were.
What you'll take away:
·         Why accepting where you are is not the same as giving up and how that distinction changes everything about how you move forward
·         The arrival fallacy: why telling yourself "I'll feel better when I reach that level" is a trap that keeps postponing your peace indefinitely
·         A simple gratitude practice for when doubt shows up mid-practice not as a feel-good exercise, but as a way to literally retrain your brain's attention
·         How to receive difficult feelings without sinking into them, using the same returning-to-breath logic you already know from practice
·         Why the doubts will come back even after a good day and why that means nothing is broken
·         The one question worth asking yourself when your mind starts to spiral: what will I do with this next precious minute?
 
If you're ready to step on stage with confidence, perform at your best, and finally feel secure in your playing, let's talk! Book a free discovery call and let's create a plan to get you there.
Are you ready to take your playing and career to the next level and create a life that feels purposeful and joyful? Let's connect and explore how personalized coaching can support your journey. Click here to schedule your free consultation, and let's start turning your goals into reality.
 
Book your FREE Music Mastery Experience Discovery call with Renée HERE
Book your free consultation with Renée HERE
Download the transcript from this episode HERE
 
Mind Over Finger
Click www.mindoverfinger.com/coaching to book your free consultation with me.
Visit MindOverFinger.com for my online courses as well as free resources on peak performance.
Grab my free workshops and PDF downloads by going to www.mindoverfinger.com/resources.
Connect:
https://www.youtube.com/@MindOverFinger
https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfinger
https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/
 
 
THANK YOU:
Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme:  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson.