One of the key highlights for me about 2011 in music was the way musicians all got together to collaborate on various projects. And I'm not just talking about "Loutallica", the Lou Reed-Metallica combo that has been called everything from "amazing" to "full of crap"; nor Coldplay roping in R&B princess Rihanna for their song Princess Of China; nor Katy Perry and Kanye West's remake of E.T., which won a Best Collaboration award at this year's MTV Video Music Awards; nor the Insane Clown Posse and Jack White collaboration called Leck Mich Im Arsch.

Earlier this year, I was privileged enough to perform with the guys from local band Typewriter at their Esplanade gig in January (along with multi-instrumentalist Donavan Loh of Cheating Sons, violinist Natalie Soh of Seranaide and trumpeter Colin Yong); on top of being a member of The Fast Colors, a rock covers band which features Patrick Chng (Typewriter), singer-songwriter Kevin Mathews, jazz bassist Chee Wah Yong and jazz drummer Tan Boon Gee.

The point being that collaborations are more prevalent here than you think. Both veteran and younger musicians, across all genres, from Vernon Cornelius and Ramli Sarip to Stefanie Sun and Taufik Batisah, got together to shoot the music video for a reworked version of Home, which was aired in February for Total Defence Day. Various local and international musicians got together to record a cover of Coldplay's Fix You, as part of the Music Matters For Japan campaign. And let's not forget the return of the School Invasion Tour this year, anchored by the guys from West Grand Boulevard, and featuring acts like Inch Chua and Sixx.

Mind you, everybody volunteered their time - no one got paid. For instance, Daniel Sassoon (of In Each Hand A Cutlass) and producer Leonard Soosay didn't pocket a dime to co-present the recent Lepa(r)k concert in conjunction with the Tanglin Cairnhill Citizen's Consultative Committee, which featured a slew of cool local acts including Plainsunset.

A great example of musical collaboration is Thunder Rock School, a music school helmed by musician Amanda Ling, that is essentially run by musicians - aka the Thunder Rockers - with people like Chua and Sassoon sometimes chipping in to conduct workshops. It may sound rather free-for-all, but Thunder Rocker Ian Toh, who also sings for Flybar, said there is a strict selection process when it comes to filling the teaching board. Those who join this music education collaboration not only need to be able to teach but also nurture a future generation of local musicians to "readily provide an outflow of professional and creative music that can bring us to the next level", he explained.

"We want the students to achieve the rewards of being professional musicians and see what it is like to have a career performing their own music. Hence, we have to make sure the teachers are in here for the long run, where they will see their students through and make sure that the students, if they want to, are ready to showcase their own written music."

And not just in Singapore, Toh added, but overseas as well.

Thunder Rock School also organised collaborative efforts such as Animal Day @ 313: Animals In-Sync, held in conjunction with World Animal Day. It not only featured musicians as diverse as Robert Fernando and Caracal, but also had local artists such as CLOGTWO, MAHLSTIK and Cheryl Lim to present their artworks.

But 2011 wasn't just about collaborations and volunteerism on a large scale. When indie musician Lorraine Tan wanted to put together a music video for a song she'd written to commemorate National Day, called My Singapore, she put out a call on Facebook for actors. "I thought it would be quite fun," said Tan. "To me, it was a very meaningful project because it involved Singaporeans."

The response she got was overwhelming. "And they weren't professional actors or directors - they were all volunteers," said Tan. "It was a very nice."

Her third album, Forever, also featured local creatives such as Christine Hung, who designed the dress worn by Tan in the album photos.

At the end of the day, collaborations are a win-win situation for all involved, said singer-songwriter and YouTube sensation Clara Chung, aka Clara C. She should know. She's only been in the scene for just about two years, but has already collaborated with the likes of Korean pop star Jay Park, and roped in fellow YouTuber Ryan Higa (NigaHiga) for her music video, The Camel Song.

"I think we all have this unspoken understanding that we're all in it together," she said. "There's room for everybody, so it doesn't have to be this cutthroat (competition). Why do you need to battle it out all gladiator-style? Let's just all be a family, get together, make art and inspire one another."