Our favorite stories from the October training week

Every other month, we at the Rock School organize a training week. A chance for the students to meet and work together; trainings are filled with mixed band rehearsals, sound engineering workshops, songwriting workshops and vocal workshops. This last October, we had the chance to learn from different band coaches and professors from the Mitrovica Rock School and Fontys Rockacademie.

We love these opportunities for training and most of all, how much we learn from each other. Here are the top four things we learned at our latest training:

 

A Support System is Important

Music-making is not always easy, especially in a divided city. A strong support system allows us to have access to knowledge and resources that will help us achieve our goals; both individually and as mixed bands.

“It’s fun for me to be in shoes of a bass player in my current band. During the training week, I’ve been fortunate to learn directly from some of my favorite coaches who are bass players. Everyone has been extremely supportive of me and the band, which I feel very happy to be a part of.”

Jelena – Mitrovica Rock School student

 

We Inspire Each Other

Needless to say, the training brings out creativity in all of us. It’s a chance for all of us to create new material and inspire each other. The training gives each one of us a chance to shine, a chance to share their knowledge with the group.

“New material, new songs, new ideas, it’s just awesome being a part of this”

Filip Milovanovic – Mitrovica Rock School band coach

 

We are Better Together

Our city might be divided, but our bands are not. Our mixed bands not only prove that we are better together, but it’s together that we can solve problems, be more productive, and create something beautiful.

“It’s so sad when you see such good people living in the same city but are separated by a river. I believe we could all join our forces and create something beautiful by helping each other and leaving the past where it belongs.”

Rina – Mitrovica Rock School student

Our Music Is from the Heart

Creating music together shifts our focus to what we share: our love of certain bands or genres, our passion for making music. Our school and our bands are micro-communities, places where we connect over the things we love.

“It was heavy to see that everyone had to go by car to get to the school branch on the other side, and some were afraid to cross the bridge. But once you see the students, from the North and South, working together, helping each other and creating a community, you can really feel that everyone is approaching music from the heart. Every band is unique.”

Lotte Slangen – Fontys Rockacademie graduate