The Inner Take

In this episode of The Inner Take, percussionist Cristóbal Gajardo reflects on the experiences that have shaped his musical journey. From lessons learned with influential teachers to insights gained through years of practice and endurance training, Cristóbal explores how self-talk influences learning, performance, and personal growth. A thoughtful conversation about discipline, awareness, and the inner work behind becoming a musician.

There are certain ideas that every musician encounters sooner or later, yet almost nobody talks about them.
They shape the way we practice, perform, deal with fear, build a career, and understand our place in the world.
After thirteen episodes and countless conversations with guests, colleagues, friends, and listeners, I realized that these five ideas keep appearing again and again. They are not small topics or simple self-help advice—they are fundamental questions that every artist eventually has to face.
In this episode, I reflect on the five biggest lessons that have emerged through creating this podcast and through the conversations...

What happens when the thing you love most also becomes the thing that breaks you?

In this episode of The Inner Take Podcast, I talk with Portuguese oboist and performer Patricia Pinheiro about the emotional realities behind a life in music.

Patricia shares her unusual beginning in music — auditioning for an instrument she didn’t even know how to play — and opens up about navigating abusive teachers, depression, self-doubt, and the many moments where she almost walked away from music completely.

We talk about the inner voice musicians live with, the importance of asking for help, and why sometimes...

In this episode, we explore a question that most musicians are never asked:

What does it really mean to be a music interpreter?

Many of us spend years improving technically, but we never stop to think about what kind of interpreter we are becoming — or where we actually want to go.

Based on ideas from the book Music and Emotions, this episode presents four types of music interpreters, defined by their objectives, their way of studying, and their relationship with the music, the composer, and themselves.

You may recognize yourself in one of them — or maybe in several....