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 childhood studies to today’s pedagogical pursuits (3:13) Teaching the language of music (11:50) Practicin...
Oct 08, 2021•54 min•Season 4Ep. 109
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 information from the world’s best violinists for years. She is also an incredibly kind and enthusiast...
Sep 24, 2021•42 min•Season 4Ep. 108
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 soloist, to being a musician entrepreneur and beyond. My very special guest for the opening of Season 4...
Sep 10, 2021•39 min•Season 4Ep. 107
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: https://www.instagram.com/brandon.acker.guitar/ Brandon J. Acker is a classical guitarist and specialist o...
Aug 06, 2021•58 min•Season 3Ep. 106
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 with the Aligned Musician here on the Mind Over Finger platform. Check out my brand new workshop: PERFO...
Jul 30, 2021•49 min•Season 3Ep. 108
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 continue in May with violinist Callum Smart, in June you'll hear from trumpet player Christopher...
Jul 08, 2021•49 min•Season 3Ep. 104
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 pianist Konstantin Soukhovetski, we continue in May with violinist Callum Smart, in June you'll he...
Jun 16, 2021•50 min•Season 3Ep. 103
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 Christopher Still from Honesty Pill, July will bring violinist Esther Abrami, and we’ll spend time with...
May 18, 2021•44 min•Season 3Ep. 102
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 Christopher Still from Honesty Pill, July will bring violinist Esther Abrami, and we’ll spend time with...
May 13, 2021•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 101
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 rapid-fire questions! Enjoy! Frustrated with your playing? Unsatisfied with you career? Ready for a ch...
Apr 30, 2021•23 min•Season 3Ep. 100
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 includes live Q&A! SIGN UP HERE! Over the course of 7 days, starting May 2nd, Marc and Renée will t...
Apr 27, 2021•52 min•Season 3Ep. 99
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 performing Bach, and how she sees Bach as the music of infinite possibilities What she calls the perform...
Apr 23, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 98
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 exercise here: DOWNLOAD Frustrated with your playing? Unsatisfied with you career? Ready for a change? What...
Apr 16, 2021•32 min•Season 3Ep. 97
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 will find very beautiful! Frustrated with your playing? Unsatisfied with you career? Ready for a chang...
Apr 09, 2021•55 min•Season 3Ep. 96
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 teaching at NEC and Berklee, via a 16- year tenure with the Cleveland Orchestra The importance of listen...
Mar 26, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 95
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 EXPERIENCE is back in June 2021 This is a LIFE CHANGING, highly personalized group coaching program where I sh...
Mar 19, 2021•22 min•Season 3Ep. 94
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 – including all of our emotions – can be profoundly helpful The concept of Fierce Presence and the Domino of G...
Mar 12, 2021•45 min•Season 3Ep. 93
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 (it involves “raiding” the stage... in a way!), how to enter the professional life, and he gives us ...
Feb 26, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Season 3Ep. 92
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. The pay off? Get more results during your practice. A total game changer! (I also squeeze in a litt...
Feb 19, 2021•25 min•Season 3Ep. 91
I’m very excited to welcome Dr. Frank Diaz to the show this week to cover a topic that is at the core of everything Mind Over Finger is: mindfulness. In our conversation, Frank elaborates on: How he defines what mindfulness is Mindfulness techniques that can be helpful for musicians The sequence he likes to use when he teaches mindfulness Performance-related trauma How we owe it to ourselves to tap into our inner resources … and much more! Frustrated with your playing? Unsatisfied with you caree...
Feb 12, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 90
089 Leon Bosch: Musical Ambassador In this episode, I’m so happy to bring you an exceptional person and artist, and one of my favorite musicians, internationally renowned classical double bass virtuoso Leon Bosch. We covered a wide variety of topics, including: How his artistic journey has unfolded until now Some of the fundamental principles he applied along the way How he is mission driven to be an advocate for the double bass and how he has pursued this mission throughout the years The import...
Jan 29, 2021•54 min•Season 3Ep. 89
088 Efficient Practice Planning with Dr. Renée-Paule Gauthier This winter, I’m bringing you a series of four episodes about building your amazing practice. In this series, I'll be covering many of the components that I think are essential in having a great productive practice session. At least, for me! I'll be talking about planning and scheduling, priming for an efficient practice, building a great warmup regimen, and, finally, I’ll take you through my favorite practice session breakdown. This ...
Jan 22, 2021•21 min•Season 3Ep. 88
In this episode, Dr. Kimberly Hankins, discusses the multiple benefits of breathwork. She elaborates on: How she came to discover yoga and breathwork and how it helped her discover her own voice How the breath is central to all systems in the body and to how we interact with the world How Breathwork affects the nervous system Why the goal is not always to be calm: the goal is to react to stress in an appropriate way The difference between pranayama and other different styles of breathwork How br...
Jan 15, 2021•57 min•Season 3Ep. 87
Whether you want to rock the stage for your next performance, win an audition, land your dream job, transform your teaching studio, or start a new music business: IT’S POSSIBLE! And this episode will help you set things up for your massive success! You will walk away with: A renewed vision for the future Clear goals and specific strategies to implement and create an incredible musical reality for yourself Unwavering confidence in your ability to succeed A feeling of dedication to the process The...
Dec 25, 2020•44 min•Season 3Ep. 86
In this episode, I speak with world-class pianist and composer Kenny Werner who’s prolific output of compositions, recordings and publications continue to impact audiences around the world, and author of the impactful book, Effortless Mastery, Liberating the Master Musician Within . In our conversation, Kenny expands on: His incredible journey, leading to the exploration of effortless mastery How the need to play well is the thing we should – yet will never – surrender How focus behaves like wat...
Dec 18, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 85
In this episode, I share with you the conversation I had with Angela Ezeonyeka and Andrew Coleman on their show - The Musician’s Toolbox Podcast. With the Musician’s Toolbox Podcast, Andrew and Angela aim to equip musicians with the information, inspiration, and imagination to pursue and achieve a career in music. And they do this by interviewing professionals in the industry and exposing listeners to all facets of a musician's life. We cover a lot of ground in our chat, including mindful and ef...
Dec 11, 2020•52 min•Season 3Ep. 84
Emotional Freedom Technique specialist and coach Jenny Clift talks to us about this powerful modality and how it can help musicians become more productive and handle emotions in an effective way. Tapping information and resources: https://abetterlifetapping.com/eft-tapping/ MORE ABOUT JENNY CLIFT: Website: https://abetterlifetapping.com/ YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMK-XV7QjEKh6FvJnBaajcw Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abetterlifetapping/ Instagram: https://www.instagra...
Dec 04, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 83
I’m very excited to have world-renowned violinist Leila Josefowicz on the show for you today! As you’ll hear in our discussion, Leila is a profoundly passionate and dedicated musician who approaches her craft with great depth and she shares incredible wisdom with us. Among many things, Leila elaborates on: The power of memorization What the “practice of violin playing” means to her How exploring new repertoire helped her transition out of her “child prodigy” years Her advice to all musicians suf...
Nov 20, 2020•57 min•Season 3Ep. 82
Today I’m bringing you a conversation previously aired on the Violin Podcast, hosted by Eric Mrugala. On the Violin Podcast Eric interviews violinists worldwide on a bi-weekly basis discussing violin news, practice tips, career advice, and their journey with the violin. Now, this was for the Violin Podcast, but it’s valuable information for all musicians, regardless of the instrument. Eric and I talked about How to solve problems in the practice room How to prepare optimally for performances, au...
Nov 13, 2020•56 min•Season 3Ep. 81
For this episode, I bring you a powerful conversation with world-renowned Alexander Technique teacher Lori Schiff. As Lori shares on her website, the Alexander Technique “is a method for living better through your own mindfulness in action.” It can help you gain confidence and reduce pain, tension and fatigue. It allows you to connect with yourself to nourish presence and mobility and, from there, leads to performing better in all areas of your life. Lori expands on: How Alexander Technique affe...
Nov 06, 2020•59 min•Season 3Ep. 80
