Making music together is not just about playing instruments at the same time. A major part of being in a band, especially if the band writes original songs, is collaboration and co-creation. Making this process work takes interpersonal and communicative skills. Band members bring in their own ideas and listen to others’ input, negotiate which parts end up in the song and how they should sound, and give each other feedback and compliments on their ideas and performance.
The band coaching methodology is shared and taught by experienced pop music educators from Fontys Rockacademie in the Netherlands, our partner in the Rock School program since 2008. Within the Rock School program, the methodology was adapted to the local context of the Western Balkans, becoming a successful approach to inter-ethnic cooperation through music making.