Community music interventions can have a positive impact on personal development, mental health and social inclusion (Hallam et al, 2012). In particular, drumming circles appear to improve feelings of wellbeing, enhance self-confidence and create a strong sense of community and belonging (Varner, 2022). It is a community music activity accessible to people with no previous musical experience, allowing for the creation of a rhythmic ensemble with the active engagement of all participants and participants under the guidance and encouragement of community musicians. The purpose of this case study is to explore the role and contribution of the drumming circle in the interpersonal relationships of female students living in a student residence in the Greek periphery. The research question that is attempted to be answered is how musical interactions can shape the interpersonal relationships of the participants. Specifically, ten female students residing in the same dormitory participated in meetings, which were structured to enhance their interpersonal relationships with each other through the use of percussion musical instruments in a circle. A total of 20 music sessions were held in a community venue. Following a qualitative case study methodological design (Yin, 2014), data were collected from semi-structured interviews of the female students, informal discussions of the whole group every two weeks, and the researcher's diary which was used as a verification tool. The students' collective narratives helped to capture this participation in terms of their subjective well-being. Categories emerged from the thematic analysis, relating to the motivations and challenges of their participation, the goals they had set for themselves and their experience of their individual and collective sense of well-being. In conclusion, it appeared that the students' personal musical expression through the percussion circle strengthened their relationships with each other, promoting a sense of subjective and collective wellbeing within the dormitory. The percussion circle appeared to be an activity that allowed for the strengthening of bonds in this context, turning the dormitory into a more welcoming residence and providing space for deeper acquaintance and more meaningful communication between the female students.

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• Social musical settings
• Meaningful musical experiences
• Music and communities

Helen Leonida is an honours graduate of the Department of Music Studies of the Ionian University, specialising in Music Pedagogy and Psychology of Music and a student of the postgraduate programme "Music Pedagogy in School and Community" of the same university. She has been involved in teaching music to infants, toddlers and enhancing musical skills of young mothers. Her research so far has focused on the context of music in the community and she currently works as a musician in a nursery school and a conservatory.

Mitsi Akoyunoglou is an Assistant Professor of Music Therapy and Inclusive Music Practices at Ionian University, Corfu. She completed her BA and MA in music therapy at MSU, USA, and a PhD and a PostDoc at Ionian University. For the period 2023-2026 she is the Regional Liaison for Europe at WFMT and the Country Representative of Greece to EMTC. She is a member of the scientific committee of Mousikopaidagogika, on the editorial board of Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy, co-editor of the open access resource Music Therapy Dictionary: A Place of Interdisciplinary Encounters and co-president of the Organizing Committee of the 10th International Conference of GSME.