The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

I have often let my fear of not perfecting a piano piece get in the way of practicing at all, causing a huge amount of stress in the weeks before competitions. Staying consistent and putting in just a little each day has massively helped my improvement and has helped me not burn out in the long term. Photo courtesy of Mangesh Bhandarkar | Used with permission

The price of perfection

Anika Bhandarkar March 2, 2024

I have always been a procrastinator. Despite numerous attempts to fix this bad habit through time blocking, staying ahead of classes or simply being more disciplined, I have always strayed off schedule...

Some musical terms and their meanings | Graphic by Anika Bhandarkar

The keys to passion

Anika Bhandarkar November 5, 2022

Anika Bhandarkar · The keys to passion I’ve been playing piano since I was five and a half. Over 3,500 hours of my life have been dedicated to piano — running through scales, technique exercises...

Facing the pressure of passion

Facing the pressure of passion

Crystal Cheng October 15, 2021
Reflecting on the role piano has played in my life
Junior Jacob Vrabel began learning to play the guitar over the summer with help from his parents, as his dad has played guitar for 15 years, and his mom has played since she was young.

Budding musicians

Claire Wen September 25, 2020
Students share about learning new musical instruments during quarantine
Holding onto my childhood passion

Holding onto my childhood passion

Jasmine Lee October 24, 2019

hat began as an ambitious attempt to one-up an academically-outstanding classmate in kindergarten transformed into my ultimate passion. The piano and I go way back; I remember how I raced to my Taiwanese...

What I’ve learned from performing in piano recitals

What I’ve learned from performing in piano recitals

Brian Xu March 15, 2019

’ve been playing the piano for eight years now — at this point, I’ve been playing for half my life. Every week consists of practicing scales and technique, learning etudes (practice pieces) and...

Performers prepare for the Heart Beats concert. The event held on March 23 at the auditorium included performances from violinists, cellists, flutists, and vocalists. Photo by Shuyi Qi.

Heart Beats concert held on March 23.

Shuyi Qi March 28, 2013
The Musicians Society’s Heart Beats Concert showcased classical music to raise money for the American Red Cross.
New kids on the block

New kids on the block

Tiffany Lau May 9, 2010

Passive Walk is a brand new kind of two-person band Movies often brainwash the mind to believe that a high school band is a ruckus in a garage, but not all bands fall into the stereotype. Sophomores...

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