This paper presents a reflective account of a pedagogical experience in the collective string classes of the Centro de Difusão Musical (CDM) at Sesc Maringá, integrating children, adolescents, and young people in collaborative learning on violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Grounded in humanizing music education (Brito, 2007; Kater, 2012; Penna, 2019) and collective string teaching (Tourinho, 2006; Santos, 2014; Berg, 2017), the experience highlights the repertoire as a tool for belonging, identity, and creativity. Through shared selection and collaborative arrangements, students’ musical preferences and cultural references were incorporated into the learning process. Results revealed greater engagement, expressiveness, autonomy, and a strengthened group identity. The repertoire ceased to be a technical exercise and became a space for dialogue and mutual recognition, reaffirming the transformative potential of collective string teaching as a humanizing and cultural practice.   The Centro de Difusão Musical (CDM) at Sesc Maringá is a collective music education program that welcomes students of diverse ages and backgrounds. In its bowed string classes—violins, violas, cellos, and double basses—participants share an environment that values both technical development and the construction of affective and cultural bonds through music. The pedagogical approach assumes that learning an instrument also means learning about oneself, others, and the world. Musical practice is conceived as a process of humanization, involving listening, imagination, and collaboration (Brito, 2007; Kater, 2012). Throughout the lessons, traditional repertoires—though essential for technique—did not always foster identification. Students engaged more when playing melodies connected to films, games, or popular culture. From this observation, a dialogical process of repertoire appreciation was initiated. Part of the repertoire retained technical objectives (scales, studies, introductory works), while another emerged from students’ suggestions, adapted collectively for different instruments. This simple change produced significant effects. Choosing a song became a cultural encounter among participants. By integrating students’ sound worlds, classes grew more participatory, creative, and affective. The repertoire was no longer imposed but became a source of belonging. Shy students began suggesting ideas, singing from memory, and experimenting with new ways of playing. Beyond enthusiasm, there was improvement in listening, intonation, and expressive details. When repertoire has personal meaning, technical study gains purpose—exercises on bowing, rhythm, or dynamics acquire communicative sense rather than remaining isolated drills. The experience confirms the potential of collective string teaching as a space of socialization, collaboration, and protagonism. As Tourinho (2006) and Santos (2014) note, group learning develops autonomy and empathy: students learn to listen and to be heard. The ensemble expands expressive possibilities and creates a peer support network that strengthens musical self-esteem. Theoretical Reflections This experience aligns with Swanwick (2003), who argues that music education becomes meaningful when it integrates emotion, imagination, and culture. It also echoes Kater (2012) and Penna (2019), who view music education as a humanizing process that values students’ expressive and cultural diversity. In collective string teaching, this perspective broadens the notion of repertoire: rather than a fixed list of works, it becomes a set of listening and creative experiences that reflect identities and promote cultural dialogue. Authors such as Berg (2017) and Moraes (2020) emphasize that collective teaching expands the social role of music, making the student an active participant in knowledge construction. The repertoire thus transcends its technical function and becomes an aesthetic and cultural experience where students recognize themselves and others. The act of arranging and performing together transforms the group into a laboratory of shared meanings. Final Considerations Integrating students’ repertoires into instrumental teaching is an act of listening. Allowing them to bring their own music legitimizes their memories and affections, strengthening their connection with the instrument and the group. Playing together then becomes more than technical learning—it becomes an encounter of identities, emotions, and cultures. Students cease to be mere performers and become co-creators of a collective sound narrative rooted in daily life. The teacher acts as a mediator who guides technique and expression without suppressing individuality. When repertoire arises from shared choices, music learning turns into collaborative and affective construction. More than performing, students learn to listen to themselves and to others. In these encounters—between tradition and novelty, teacher and learner, technique and imagination—education fulfills its humanizing role. The experience demonstrates that collective string teaching, when grounded in dialogue and cultural inclusion, transforms the classroom into a space of belonging and creation, where learning music means, above all, learning to live together through sound.