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227 Hijacked by Fear – What to Do When Your Mind Turns Against You On Stage

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

Release Date: 05/22/2025

256 Strong Body, Fearless Stage - Shannon Kiewitt on How Movement Builds the Confidence to Perform at Your Best show art 256 Strong Body, Fearless Stage - Shannon Kiewitt on How Movement Builds the Confidence to Perform at Your Best

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

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 ...

info_outline 255 Working Hard and Going Nowhere? How to break the cycle that's keeping you stuck. show art 255 Working Hard and Going Nowhere? How to break the cycle that's keeping you stuck.

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

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 ...

info_outline 254 Finding Your Way Back to Playing - Gabriel Radford on rebuilding after fear, injury, and loss of control show art 254 Finding Your Way Back to Playing - Gabriel Radford on rebuilding after fear, injury, and loss of control

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

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...

info_outline 253 Your Pep Talk for When Things Feel Heavy - A reminder for musicians navigating comparison, doubt, and the ups and downs of growth show art 253 Your Pep Talk for When Things Feel Heavy - A reminder for musicians navigating comparison, doubt, and the ups and downs of growth

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

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...

info_outline 252 Learning to Trust Yourself as a Musician: Juliana Athayde on betting on yourself, leading with humanity, and performing without fear. show art 252 Learning to Trust Yourself as a Musician: Juliana Athayde on betting on yourself, leading with humanity, and performing without fear.

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

Concertmaster Juliana Athayde shares the mindset shifts and life choices that shaped her career, from betting on herself early on to leading an orchestra and building a full life beyond the practice room. In this conversation, we explore: • The leap of faith that led her to turn down a dream job and invest in herself • What great orchestral leadership actually looks like beyond playing well • Why “perfect or disaster” thinking traps so many musicians • The powerful idea that performance needs no rear view mirror • How audition panels are often rooting for you more than you...

info_outline 251 Your Heart Is Racing. Now What? The “Yes, And” trick that turns nerves into focus show art 251 Your Heart Is Racing. Now What? The “Yes, And” trick that turns nerves into focus

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

When your heart is racing and your brain starts whispering “don’t mess this up,” it’s easy to think the goal is to shut the thoughts down. But that fight is often the thing that turns normal pre performance activation into full anxiety. In this short episode, I borrow the first rule of improv, “Yes, and,” and show you how to use it as a musician. Not to become fearless, but to stay in the music even when doubt is in the room. In this episode, you’ll hear: ·         The difference between normal activation and anxiety, and how the...

info_outline 250 Yoga for All Musicians: Brianne Borden and Claire Howard on nervous system care, the power of community, and a more humane way to make music show art 250 Yoga for All Musicians: Brianne Borden and Claire Howard on nervous system care, the power of community, and a more humane way to make music

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

When the world feels heavy and your body is bracing, it is weirdly easy to start treating music like it has to justify itself. You practice anyway. You show up anyway. But inside, you are carrying pressure, tension, and that quiet question most musicians do not say out loud: how do I keep doing this without burning out or breaking down? In Episode 250, I sit down with Dr. Brianne Borden and Claire Howard, co-owners of Yoga for All Musicians, for a conversation that is equal parts grounding, honest, and immediately useful. ·         Why “just focus on...

info_outline 249 You’re Not Behind. You’re Overloaded. How Unrealistic Expectations Hijack Your Brain and What to Do Instead show art 249 You’re Not Behind. You’re Overloaded. How Unrealistic Expectations Hijack Your Brain and What to Do Instead

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

In this episode, we unpack how unrealistic expectations quietly overload your brain, tighten your body, and slow your progress. And more importantly, how to reset them so they actually work for you. You’ll learn: • Why high standards are not the problem but misaligned expectations are • How pressure and perfectionism interfere with learning • A simple expectation audit you can use before practice or performance • How to shift from “I should” to “What can I do today?” • A powerful on stage reframe that turns anxiety into expression If you’ve been pushing hard but not...

info_outline 248 Bill Denton: Forget the Timeline - The Path Is Yours to Build - What Every Musician Needs to Hear About Age, Timing, and the Long Game show art 248 Bill Denton: Forget the Timeline - The Path Is Yours to Build - What Every Musician Needs to Hear About Age, Timing, and the Long Game

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

What if your path takes longer than you thought it would? What if you don’t win the job straight out of school. Or even straight out of your twenties? And what if that’s not failure, but just a different kind of success? In this episode, I sit down with Bill Denton, Principal Trumpet of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, to talk about what it really means to stay in the game. Bill won his job at 50. Before that? He taught high school band, drove to gigs, kept showing up, and stayed connected to his playing through real life, not a perfect timeline. This conversation is for anyone who’s ever...

info_outline 247 Tired of Forcing Yourself to Practice? The Mental Reset That Gets You Back Into Practice Gently show art 247 Tired of Forcing Yourself to Practice? The Mental Reset That Gets You Back Into Practice Gently

The Mind Over Finger Podcast

When practicing feels impossible, it’s not because you’re lazy or undisciplined. In this episode, I walk you through the simple mindset shifts and practical strategies that help you stop pushing and start showing up with more ease, clarity, and self-respect. You’ll learn: ·         Why waiting for motivation doesn’t work ·         A five-step mental reset to ease into practice ·         How to reduce friction and make your routine feel lighter ...

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More Episodes

In this episode, we explore why overthinking and fear take over in performance, even when you’re fully prepared. You’ll learn what’s really happening in your brain under pressure, why trying to fight fear often makes it worse, and what you can do to build trust in yourself again.

If you’ve ever felt like your own mind is your biggest obstacle on stage, this episode is for you.

 

And if if you’re tired of second-guessing yourself and ready to start performing with confidence and calm, join us inside the Music Mastery Experience.

MME is a full year of high-level coaching, structure, and support to help you retrain your performance response, build real trust in your preparation, and show up consistently, no matter the pressure.

The next cohort begins June 1. Spots are limited.

 

Book your FREE Music Mastery Experience Discovery call with Renée HERE

 

Download the transcript from this episode HERE

 

Mind Over Finger

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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.