The Mind Over Finger Podcast

Welcome to the first Mind Over Finger Podcast episode of 2022! There are many exciting things coming up this year, including the Joyful Practice Challenge. Learn more in the intro to this episode! There's no better way to welcome in the new year than with today's special guest: musician, speaker, and citizen-artist Vijay Gupta. His work embodies the belief that the work of artists and citizens is...

I can't wait for you to hear this week's conversation with the inspiring  Jennifer Montone. Jennifer is the Grammy-Award-Winning Principal Horn of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and a world acclaimed soloist, chamber musician and teacher. She's been on the faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School since joining the orchestra in 2006.      She regularly performs as a soloist wi...

I had a fantastic conversation with Elizabeth Rowe that I can't wait to share with you today! Elizabeth is the principal flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  She's a professional coach, teacher, social justice advocate, and public speaker. She has been hailed by The Boston Globe as a Bostonian of the Year following the lawsuit she won in 2018, demanding equal pay from her employer. Since the...

Today, you're in for quite a treat!  I spoke with Tom Hooten, Principal Trumpet of the LA Philharmonic and one of the world's most prominent classical trumpeters. Be prepared to walk away from this conversation feeling highly motivated and inspired by the energy and wisdom he brought to this conversation! We covered many great topics, including: Tom's self-described "unconventional" journey to thi...

I'm really excited to bring you this conversation with Ralph Skiano, principal clarinetist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Though this conversation was our first time meeting, our views on practice and mindfulness couldn't be more aligned. I hope you thoroughly enjoy this episode! Before joining the Detroit symphony, Ralph served as principal clarinetist with the Cincinnati Symphony, the Richmo...

I have admired today's guest for a very long time! Kim Kashkashian is an internationally recognized and decorated violist who has worked tirelessly to broaden the range of technique, advocacy, and repertoire for the viola. Our conversation is absolutely filled with information and inspiration, including: Her musical journey and how her artistic path has unfolded, focusing heavily on conquering her...

I recently had the true pleasure of chatting with my former teacher: violinist and pedagogue extraordinaire Brian Lewis!  He is an exceptionally dedicated and passionate performer who is committed to growing the legacies of his own two incredible teachers, the great Dorothy DeLay and Dr. Shinichi Suzuki. In our conversation we touched on... How Brian's artistic path has unfolded, from his own chil...

This week I had the pleasure of chatting with Laurie Niles, a performing violinist, pedagogue, and the genius behind Violinist.com!  She founded the website in 1996 and, today, Violinist.com attracts more than 200,000 unique visitors each month and continues to bring together lovers of the violin and classical music from all over the globe. Thanks to Laurie, we have been able to enjoy insight and...

Welcome to Season 4 of the Mind Over Finger Podcast! Thank you to everyone who has made this journey possible and found these conversations not only useful, but inspiring. I look forward to many more episodes with phenomenal musicians! This season is all about helping you to create a fulfilling music experience, covering everything from navigating the road to a musical degree, to the life of a sol...

Insight-packed conversation with guitar player and YouTube sensation Brandon Acker.   Sign up today for PRACTICING FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE: The workshop for curious musicians who want to find the FLOW that powers new PEAKS of PERFORMANCE   MORE ABOUT BRANDON ACKER: Website: http://brandonackerguitar.com/contact-2/ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-GiI_5U-WkPIKqsq056wvg Instagram: ht...

Today is a special episode: I'm bringing you a conversation I had with Dr. Kimberly Hankins on her podcast, The Aligned Musician .  We had a great time covering a wide array of topics including practicing mindfully, self-compassion in practice and performance, and performance anxiety.  I love Kimberly and her work and I'm happy to have more opportunities to bring awareness to everything she does w...

For you today: an insight-packed gem of a conversation with star violinist Esther Abrami. This summer on the Mind Over Finger Podcast, I promise you fantastic time with wonderful guests! Every month I'm having a live Q&A with amazing musicians in my Facebook group, the Mind Over Finger Community and, as to be expected, much wisdom is being shared! We start with pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski, we...

For you today: an insight-packed gem of a conversation with LA Phil trumpet player and Honesty Pill founder, Christopher Still! This summer on the Mind Over Finger Podcast, I promise you fantastic time with wonderful guests! Every month I'm having a live Q&A with amazing musicians in my Facebook group, the Mind Over Finger Tribe and, as to be expected, much wisdom is being shared! We start with pi...

This summer on the Mind Over Finger Podcast, I promise you a fantastic time with wonderful guests! Every month I'm having a live Q&A with amazing musicians in my Facebook group, the  Mind Over Finger Tribe  and, as to be expected, much wisdom is being shared! We start with pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski, we continue in May with violinist Callum Smart, in June you'll hear from trumpet player Chris...

This summer on the Mind Over Finger Podcast, I promise you a fantastic time with wonderful guests! Every month I'm having a live Q&A with amazing musicians in my Facebook group, the Mind Over Finger Tribe and, as to be expected, much wisdom is being shared! We start with pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski, we continue in May with violinist Callum Smart, in June you'll hear from trumpet player Christo...

100 EPISODES!!!!!  This calls for a celebration! We did this in a sweet way at Mind Over Finger with my own children interviewing me!  It's a short and cute one, where you'll hear my own kids asking me questions about why we should all play music, mindfulness in practicing, my experience learning to play the violin, and dealing performance anxiety, before putting me in the hot seat for a round of...

In this episode, Marc Gelfo from Modacity and Dr. Renée-Paule Gauthier from Mind Over Finger discuss elements of masterful instrumental practice and are excited to announce the Masterful Practice Challenge.   JOIN THE 7-DAY MASTERFUL PRACTICE CHALLENGE TODAY!   Learn skills & approaches that will forever elevate the quality of your learning. Join us May 2-8, 2021 for this rare opportunity that inc...

I'm very exciting to have international violin soloist Leila Josefowicz on the show for the second time. Leila shares incredible wisdom in our conversation, including: Her outlook for how things are going to be like in the coming months How her recent incredible project at The Metropolitan Museum of Art unfolded, from where it originated to the vision coming to reality The significance of her perf...

In this fourth episode of my series on building an amazing practice routine I talk about the about how to create a efficient practice session breakdown You will hear about the three basic qualities you want in a practice session, the mindsets to nurture to be productive in your work, and the general sections to include in a solid musical progression. Download your free guided visualization exercis...

In this episode, I'm really happy to bring you a very special artist, cello professor and Feldenkrais practitioner Uri Vardi. In our conversation, Uri talks to us about the basic principles of the Feldenkrais method, how it aims to bring new awareness and possibility into every aspect of our life using gentle, mindful movements, and he elaborates on his philosophy of teaching, which I think you wi...

For this episode, I'm really excited to bring you and extremely knowledgeable, thoughtful , and inspiring musician: horn player, pedagogue, and author Eli Epstein. I'm particularly excited about this episode because Eli's philosophy and approach to practicing and music making embody so much of what mind over finger is about. Eli elaborates on: His inspiring journey from picking up the horn to teac...

In this third episode of my series on building an amazing practice routine I share my favorite tips on how to create an effective warm up regimen. I also offer you another priming guided visualization exercise. Enjoy!     Frustrated with your playing?  Unsatisfied with you career?  Ready for a change? Whatever your challenge, you don't have to go at it alone, and I can help.    THE MUSIC MASTERY E...

In this episode, high-performance coach and respected author Dr. Amy Baltzell discusses the power of mindfulness.  She elaborates on: The Olympic journey that led her to devoting her life to helping athletes and performers How mindfulness and self-compassion are transformative and liberating, and how they can help us deal with fear, anxiety, and self-doubts How accepting reality as it is – includi...

Today, I speak with a wonderful storyteller of sound, Assistant Principal Clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony John Bruce Yeh. In our conversation, John shares how his artistic journey unfolded.  He takes us on an amazing trip, featuring great musical figures, which shows the various elements that go into the making of a world-class musician. He also talks about how to prepare fully for an audition...

In this second episode of my series on building an amazing practice routine I share my favorite tips about a powerful ritual that can transform the results you get in the practice room: PRIMING. When we're priming, we prepare the body and mind to be fully engaged and productive. By setting up a priming ritual before a practice session, you can significantly affect your level of presence and focus....