ABSTRACT
The development of expertise in music requires sustained, intensive commitment to long-term goals. These goals are underpinned by concepts that aspiring musicians formulate, with regard to their musical ideals as well as their musical possible selves. In this chapter we will explore the concepts of ideal musicians articulated by higher education music students and professional musicians. We will, furthermore, consider concepts of ideal teachers, focusing on how teachers might support students in mediating the space between their ‘ideal’ and possible musical selves.
