Engaging with music becomes a significantly different experience when it is chosen as a field of study or as a professional career path. The present study investigates how students in a department of music studies experience their relationship with music, the pleasure they derive from it, and their perception of their musical self during their academic studies (Schnare et al., 2012). Additionally, it examines the possible experiences that contribute to the enhancement of positive experiences and promote appropriate preparation for their future professional careers (Rose et al., 2021). Starting from the participants’ subjective experiences, the research followed a qualitative case study methodology, collecting data from semi-structured interviews conducted with six male and six female students from different years and specializations within the Department of Music Studies during the 2024-2025 academic year. The research was carried out by a student and a professor from the same department, ensuring a more comprehensive view of the students’ daily lives and enhancing the study’s validity and reliability. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The analysis revealed a sense of lack of time for a meaningful, experiential relationship with music beyond what is required by coursework, as well as a lack of enjoyment from certain musical experiences. Furthermore, suggestions were recorded regarding how students could take care of their personal relationship with music during their studies. The students believe that the workload from theoretical and general courses in their music studies has distanced them from enjoyable music-making (Jääskeläinen, 2023), shifting their focus toward the obligation to complete their studies rather than cultivating a deeper relationship with music. In particular, the importance of the teacher-student relationship for shaping a healthy relationship with music (Jääskeläinen & López–Íñiguez, 2022) and the psychological impact of studying or preparing assignments and concerts were highlighted. Through this research, the aim is to raise awareness within the music community —both between teachers and students— of the importance of maintaining and nurturing a personal relationship with music and deriving pleasure from it, especially since, as graduates and above all as future music educators, they are called to teach and inspire students at various educational levels.

• Meaningful musical experiences
• Lifelong learning for music educators
• Music psychology and identities

Elsini Papadopoulou: Elsini Papadopoulou is a fourth year student at the Department of Music Studies of the Ionian University, in the direction of "Music Pedagogy/Music Psychology". She has a violin diploma from the Conservatory of Corfu since 2024 and is a regular member of the ensembles of the Philharmonic Society of Corfu. In 2017 she was awarded by the Rotary Club of Corfu as an outstanding violin student. In 2024 she participated in an ensemble selected to represent the Hellenic-German Youth Orchestra at the EYE Berlin 2024 Euroconcert. In 2019 she attended the Summer Academy of the Ionian University, in the field of Music Pedagogy/Psychology of Music with the title: "Sound-movement-body-environment: relations of understanding, expression and creation". She has written two literary books, "Ad Meliora: towards the better" (2021) and "Where thoughts bloom" (2025).

Mitsi Akoyunoglou: Mitsi Akoyunoglou is an Assistant Professor of Music Therapy and Inclusive Music Practices at Ionian University, Corfu, Greece. 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 and on the editorial board of Approaches: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Music Therapy. Mitsi has co-edited the open access resource Music Therapy Dictionary: A Place of Interdisciplinary Encounters.