261 You Can Play Better Than This - Why You Don’t Sound Like Yourself Under Pressure
Release Date: 05/08/2026
266 The Long Game of Musical Growth - Ben Ullery on Curiosity, Learning, and Performing at the Highest Level
The Mind Over Finger Podcast
Ben Ullery, Principal Viola of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, joins me for a thoughtful conversation about curiosity, lifelong learning, and what it takes to keep growing as a musician while performing at the highest level. In this episode, we explore: Why curiosity is one of a musician's greatest assets What happens after you land your dream job The role of visualization in performance Why perfection isn't the goal How to keep growing throughout your musical career If you’re ready to step on stage with confidence, perform at your best, and finally feel secure in...
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265 The Art of Pacing - Elizabeth Svoboda on Flow, Recovery, and Sustainable Excellence
The Mind Over Finger Podcast
What if the goal isn't to work harder, but to find the right pace? In this episode, I talk with science writer Elizabeth Svoboda, author of The Art of Pacing, about flow, energy management, recovery, and the habits that help high performers sustain excellence without burning out. You'll hear about: • Why pacing matters more than most people realize • How to create the conditions for flow in practice and performance • What elite performers understand about recovery, resilience, and long term success If you're tired of feeling like your performances don't consistently reflect...
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264 You Don't Need More Time - How To Perform Under Pressure When Preparation Feels Impossible
The Mind Over Finger Podcast
What happens when the audition is closer than you expected and the preparation feels impossible? In this episode, I’m talking about how to handle high pressure performance situations when time is short, nerves are high, and your brain keeps telling you it’s not enough. We dive into mindset, performance psychology, nervous system regulation, and the surprising ways urgency can actually work in your favor. In this episode: • Why resisting the situation drains the energy you need to perform • How to stop spiraling and start preparing effectively • What short timelines can teach you...
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263 What Winning The Audition Actually Took - My 90 Days of Preparation, Performance Training, And Building Trust Under Pressure
The Mind Over Finger Podcast
What does it actually take to win a major orchestra audition? In this deeply personal episode, I take you behind the scenes of my winning audition for the Lyric Opera Orchestra at 47 years old. I’m sharing the real preparation process, the mental work, the conditioning, and the mindset shifts that carried me through 90 days of intense preparation and into the audition room. In this episode: • How I prepared mentally, physically, and musically while working full time and raising a family • Why trust under pressure matters more than “feeling confident” • The surprising gap between...
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262 From Battling Doubt To Dancing With It -How Robert Sanders Learned To Trust Himself Under Pressure
The Mind Over Finger Podcast
What if confidence is not the absence of doubt? In this deeply honest conversation, violinist Robert Sanders shares what changed internally as he navigated auditions, pressure, comparison, and eventually won a full time position with the Bruckner Orchestra Linz. This episode is not about becoming fearless. It’s about learning how to stop fighting yourself so aggressively underneath the pressure. In this episode: • Why self doubt does not disappear even at a high level • How Robert shifted from battling doubt to “dancing” with it • The surprising mindset shift that changed his...
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261 You Can Play Better Than This - Why You Don’t Sound Like Yourself Under Pressure
The Mind Over Finger Podcast
You know that feeling when you walk off stage thinking, “I can play so much better than this”? In this episode, I unpack three powerful patterns I saw during the Musicians Edge Challenge with more than 300 musicians and why so many performers lose access to themselves under pressure even when they’ve prepared brilliantly. In this episode: • Why your best playing can feel impossible to recreate on demand • What really happens when a different version of you shows up on stage • Why many musicians keep trying to solve the wrong problem If you’re ready to close the gap between how...
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260 The Journey to Winning — How Marie-Michel Beauparlant Reclaimed Her Confidence and Her Career
The Mind Over Finger Podcast
If you've ever stood in the wings before a performance and wondered how you got there — not in a good way — this episode is for you. Marie-Michel Beauparlant is an accomplished cellist, a mom of twins, and one of the most honest guests we've had on the show. She talks about the years she spent hiding behind section playing because solo performing felt impossible, the guilt of chasing an audition with six-month-old twins at home, and what it actually took to go from dreading the spotlight to being, as she puts it herself, a little addicted to it. This is a real conversation about the...
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259 Why Trying Harder Makes It Worse - The Hidden Cognitive Habit That's Sabotaging Your Best Work
The Mind Over Finger Podcast
You know that feeling when you nail a passage in rehearsal, and then the harder you try to repeat it, the faster it falls apart? In this solo episode, Dr. Renée-Paule reveals why the desire to play well is often the very thing getting in your way. This one hits close to home for any musician who has ever spiraled mid-performance wondering why their preparation suddenly feels like it vanished. · The reason a passage that felt effortless on the first attempt can completely unravel by the third, and why it has nothing to do with your technique. ...
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258 The Audition You've Been Capable of All Along - The Missing Piece Most Audition Prep Completely Skips
The Mind Over Finger Podcast
You've prepared the excerpts. You've done the mock auditions. You've done everything right — and something still slips when it matters most. In this episode, Dr. Renée-Paule Gauthier gets to the heart of what's actually separating the players who walk off feeling like themselves from the ones who walk off wondering what just happened. The answer isn't what you think — and it's more within your reach than you realize. In this episode: · Why the problem is almost never the excerpts · The...
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257 The Practice Room Lie: Why Pressure Hijacks Your Performance, and What to Do About It
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...
info_outlineYou know that feeling when you walk off stage thinking, “I can play so much better than this”? In this episode, I unpack three powerful patterns I saw during the Musicians Edge Challenge with more than 300 musicians and why so many performers lose access to themselves under pressure even when they’ve prepared brilliantly.
In this episode:
• Why your best playing can feel impossible to recreate on demand
• What really happens when a different version of you shows up on stage
• Why many musicians keep trying to solve the wrong problem
If you’re ready to close the gap between how you play in the practice room and who you become under pressure, the Music Mastery Experience is open for enrollment now. Inside MME, we work on performance preparation, self trust, mindset, nervous system regulation, and the hidden patterns that shape your performances. Enrollment closes May 20 and we begin June 1. Learn more at mindoverfinger.com/mme
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
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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.