Music plays a pivotal role in shaping friendships during adolescence, as it enhances social interaction and contributes to the development of personal identity (Rentfrow & Gosling, 2006). It functions as a medium of expression and social integration, enabling adolescents to participate in groups with shared values and interests, while also facilitating the exchange of opinions about artists, musical genres, and songs (Howell et al., 2021; Rentfrow, 2012). Participation in musical ensembles and activities offers substantial opportunities for socialization, as shared listening and collaboration strengthen emotional closeness, mutual understanding, and the reinforcement of interpersonal bonds (MacDonald et al., 2002). At the same time, music supports adolescents in managing their public image, cultivating agency, and enhancing their psychosocial development (Miranda, 2013; North et al., 2000; Saarikallio & Erkkilä, 2007; Miranda & Gaudreau, 2011).

This presentation reports findings from focus groups and is part of a broader research project conducted between 2018 – 2020 in music schools in Attica and Epirus, with the approval of the Institute of Educational Policy (IEP). The total sample consisted of 186 students aged 13–18. Specifically, the focus groups included N = 48 students (25 boys, 23 girls), who formed a research subgroup with shared characteristics: a strong interest in music, attendance at a music school, and participation in informal musical ensembles also maintained outside the school context.

The findings revealed that friendship is both a key motivation and a prerequisite for participating in musical groups. The students maintained close bonds based on trust and mutual support, which fostered a positive self-image (Freud, 1977). They described friendship using terms such as safety, reciprocity, respect, confidentiality, support, recognition, and the avoidance of public criticism (Argyle & Henderson, 1985; Bampalis et al., 2007; Johnson et al., 1985). Through these interactions, they discovered their “personal ideal” (Maisonneuve & Lamy, 1993), transcending personal limits. The time spent together functioned as a model of “social comparison” (Festinger, 1950, 1954) and played a crucial role in shaping their social and musical identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Overall, friendship through music emerges as a space for creativity, personal growth, and social empowerment.

• Music and communities

Elena Andreou is a musicologist, a graduate of the Department of Music Studies (Integrated Master) at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), and holds a PhD from the Department of Communication and Media Studies at NKUA in the thematic field: "Close Interpersonal Relationships, Musical Preferences, and Musical Practices." Her postgraduate studies focused on music anthropology, with a specialization in "Music, Culture, and Communication: Anthropological and Communicative Approaches to Music" (NKUA), as well as in education management, in the program "Models of Educational Unit Design and Development: Management and Evaluation of Educational Units" (Department of Primary Education, University of the Aegean). She holds a Piano Diploma and a Degree in Advanced Music Theory. She works in education as a Music Education Advisor, with teaching experience in primary and secondary education, including Model-Experimental Schools