WELCOME...

Join special guest Taylor Johnson as he shares insights to how you can ‘stay curious for optimal performance’.

Taylor has a rich and multifaceted career that led him to become the strength and performance coach for the San Francisco 49ers.

Following his time in the NFL, his curiosity led him to the realm of Esports where he coached and developed some of the world’s best gamers.

He pioneered software and research for cognitive athletes that blends neuroscience with gaming technology, which ultimately led to the creation of one of the largest Esports training platforms in the world.

He now works with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and executives to give them a competitive advantage.

In this episode he shares the strategies and mindsets that you can apply to reaching optimal performance in your personal, creative and professional life.


In this episode Taylor discusses…

• The key similarities he's noticed in top performers in fields from professional sports, to pro gaming and business professionals
• The unexpected pros and cons of working in both winning and losing seasons
• The musical elements involved in professional coaching, including in the game of football
• What professional performers in all fields need to understand about caring for their physical bodies
• The exact strategies you can use to manage and learn from performance anxiety

Where you can find Taylor:

TaylorJohnsonPerformance.com

Taylor Johnson LinkedIn


Find the complete show notes and transcripts at CarmenMorin.com/Episode10

Welcome to Episode 9 of the Music Mindset Podcast!

When you hear "The Testing Effect" it may not sound very glamourous. But in this episode, we reframe testing by unpacking a phenomenon called "the testing effect". Instead of thinking of testing as something of externalized rankings or marks, active testing can be a powerful and useful tool that you can use in all of your practice, teaching and skill building.

In this episode we talk about:

• The three key processes of human memory, and why the testing effect is crucial for long-term storage
• How you can use the testing effect to enhance deep learning and reliability of skills
• The most important strategy to takeaway as it applies to your practicing strategy
• Why this is at the root of the most valuable internal shift we've seen in our students in Momentum Piano Academy

In this episode I reference the 4-part Momentum Mastery framework used inside Momentum Piano Academy.

>> Apply to access the free advanced training of the entire 4-part framework HERE

P.S. In the episode, I reference some research articles and have included the links below:

• Unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance subsequent learning
• The Power of Testing Memory Basic Research and Implications for Educational Practice
• Examining the Testing Effect with Open- and Closed-Book Tests 

Access the complete show notes at CarmenMorin.com/episode9

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Music Mindset Podcast!

When you hear a musician mention "instrument" you may immediately think of their piano, violin or cello...but in this episode I want to share the most important instruments that we want to sharpen, train and refine before we even begin our music lesson or practice.


In this episode we talk about:

• The three instruments of piano playing (and the two that are most often skipped) 
• Unlocking what I think is one of the most transformative in Piano Foundation Formula program
• The key to training a high level of ability, and also allow the flow of your thoughts and emotion to connect to your physical movements

There is a lot of information in this episode, so I've shared a free worksheet to help you to observe and organize as we discuss these three topics.

Download the worksheet at: CarmenMorin.com/episode8

"Music lessons and piano are a tool that exposes who we are. We have an ownership to use this effectively in drawing out the most important life principles in our students and that the daily habits that we draw out through this process will lay the foundation for the success we experience in life." 

- Jennifer Shukuda

Welcome to episode 7 of the Music Mindset Podcast!

Join special guest Jen Shukuda as we discuss 'Discipline as Freedom". Jen is a well respected piano teacher, a performer, and a collaborative artist. She has transformed the mindset of countless families and students that she works with through her decades of teaching. 

She also draws on a very unique background. As well as being an exceptionally effective teacher, she also has enjoyed a successful career in healthcare with a focus on mental health, as a business coach and leader emphasizing high performance, and of course, as a parent to her two beautiful girls.

In this episode...

• Jen discusses a common thread at the root of fulfillment in all areas of life
• The direct line that of these character values that trace back to what was developed in her music training
• How letting go of expectation leads to joy and follow through in discipline
• How the ups and downs of long-term growth act as formation
• How experiencing 'discomfort' formally in musical training led to skills of leadership in all areas of life

Welcome to Episode 6 of the Music Mindset Podcast!

Anytime we have new students joining our programs, we always like to ask them one very simple question: "Why do you want to learn a musical instrument?"

Each answer might be as unique as each individual student, but a very common response we hear is "I just want to keep it fun."

This is a wonderful intention, but raises the discussion: What might we be setting ourselves up for if our top priority is to "keep it fun". 

In this episode we talk about:

• What happens to your mindset when your priority is to avoid feelings of discomfort in the learning process? 
• The focus training done in Piano Foundation Formula program
• Music brings so much joy, fun and connection - but is it right to expect the learning process to bring these feelings every step of the way?
• The 5 signs that your need to 'Keep it Fun' may be taking the joy out of the experience
• 5 Action Steps to embrace and value all aspects of learning and building your musicality

This free worksheet can be used by teachers, students and parents to explore your mindset if ever you are feeling like your learning is not as 'fun' as you expected: CarmenMorin.com/episode6

Welcome to episode 5 of the Music Mindset Podcast!

Today I am talking about a topic that I am MOST passionate about. You might think it must be a certain composer, a style of music, or performing...those things are all passions of mine, but none of them would be possible if I didn't actively study and learn about this topic - PRACTICE.

Join me in this episode, as we discuss:

• Why all practicing is NOT created equal.
• Understand why practicing in certain ways can actually make you WORSE
• What is the core mechanism that we have to harness for practice to become effective
• Understand why most people never actually experience a representation of their true potential
• Learn how you can apply this understanding to build ANY skill or character trait
• The Principles taught in the Piano Foundation Formula Program

As discussed, here is an image of a Myelin Sheath, insulating a neural pathway:

I will dive deeper into unpacking this topic in the next episode, but if there is ONE thing that I want you to fully understand about what happens when you practice, this is it!

Welcome to episode 4 of the Music Mindset Podcast!

In this episode...

We are helping to clarify how you can measure a method of musical training. Whether your reality is that you are learning through an app, self-taught, or have the guidance of a formal teacher, it can be helpful to have clear guidelines to know what to measure to see if you're improving.

Contrary to something like learning a sport (you can count the number of goals you make to see if you're improving) improvement in music lessons is not measured by the number of pieces you learn.

• Share the guidelines you can use to measure what is possible in any method of training
• Discuss core principles that should be present in quality music training
• "Methods are many, principles are few!"
• What technical skill and expressivity can tell you about someone's musical training
• How can we define education - is it a state of certainty or tools for inquiry?
• The ONLY place you should look for these areas to be demonstrated when choosing what's possible in any learning method or program

Next week we are talking about one of my favourite topics - motivation. What is it? Where does it come from? and why do some people seem to have way more of it than others?

In our first two episodes, we dug deep into mindset and exploring how and why we learn. Today we are discussing some more practical matters as I share 5 Mistakes that I see very SMART people make when they begin music lessons. In this episode we discuss:

• Do you really need an instrument when you begin?
• The ONE painfully simple step that 99% of people skip - this one action can save you from a long list of challenges down the road.
• How to figure out your 'WHY' to pursuing music lessons - hints and help can be found in Episode 1 of The Music Mindset Podcast
• What to think about when setting a goal, timeline or expectation around your learning
• The importance of working with a framework in mind, and having the feedback of a (human) professional

I've created a checklist HERE that you can use to be sure you've built in a 'FIX' to each of these common mistakes.

Welcome to episode 2 of the Music Mindset Podcast!

As we move forward into our next episode we are talking all about Internal Limiting Beliefs. Like the Elephant tied to the Tiny stake with the tiny rope, our beliefs are POWERFUL when it comes to confining us.

In this episode…

• We hear from our very first Podcast Reviewer (thank you to Jessica Erlendson!)
• Discuss the TRUTH about Short-Term commitments to Music Lessons (and all commitments, for that matter)
• Learn how powerful a long-term mindset is to your outcome. Did you know that “in a study that followed students in their outcomes on their instrument from age eight all the way to high school, they did a study where both groups practice the same amount of time each day. The group who had a long-term commitment mindset outperformed the group with a short-term commitment mindset by 400%!”
• Learn how to identify challenges that are rooted in FACT vs those that may be Internal Limiting Beliefs
• Work through our Limiting Belief Worksheet (below) to identify and examine your internal limiting beliefs

Download your Limiting Beliefs Worksheet Here

Remember, this exercise is really not about changing anyone’s beliefs. What this is about is trying to identify and pinpoint where we might be getting stuck and how that might be impacting the way that we’re approaching our musical goals and our goals in all other areas where we may face challenges.

"A lack of clarity can put the brakes on any journey to success"

Welcome to our very first episode of the Music Mindset Podcast!

Clarity is so important when you are working towards ANY goal, but especially when it comes to deciding you’re going to learn something like a musical instrument.  Use this worksheet to develop awareness around the learning process. Put pen to paper and save your answers to be your ‘guiding star’ when you experience challenges or frustrations along the way.

Download the Clarity Worksheet Here

Reminder that it’s not just about listing the many benefits of learning music. This simple step can help to build an awareness of learning process is where you will start to cultivate tools and learning strategies that you can apply to all other learning. I have seen it support many students and families, so I hope you find it serves you well.