The first year of tertiary music study often represents a profound transition from structured secondary schooling to the self-directed, performance-intensive environment of higher music education. New students must learn to balance academic study with artistic development while navigating complex expectations within studio, ensemble, and classroom settings. Many encounter uncertainty about how to manage workload, interpret feedback, or seek help when facing personal or performance-related challenges. Such barriers can weaken confidence and belonging, which are vital foundations for long-term musical growth and sustainable career development.This study investigates how coordinated approaches to communication, feedback, and student support can strengthen students’ early experiences and reduce fragmentation in their learning environment. It develops the concept of coherent support pathways, referring to the alignment between teaching, advising, and wellbeing systems that collectively help students connect learning, creativity, and wellbeing as interdependent elements of professional formation.The research adopts a single-site mixed-methods design within a tertiary music programme in Aotearoa New Zealand. A student survey examines belonging, academic confidence, perceived support, wellbeing, and the integration of practice and coursework. Interviews with lecturers explore curriculum alignment, assessment design, and feedback practices that support students’ development as independent musicians. Interviews with student success advisers investigate how support information is communicated, how students navigate help-seeking, and what changes can improve accessibility and connection between academic and wellbeing systems.Early observations and preparatory discussions suggest that communication between studio, classroom, and advising contexts is not always coherent. Students sometimes describe uncertainty about expectations across performance and academic domains, or hesitation in seeking help for wellbeing and workload concerns. The study will explore how clearer, better-coordinated support can enhance belonging, confidence, and motivation in the first year, thereby reducing barriers to participation and persistence.By examining how small but coordinated changes can improve the visibility and integration of support systems, this research contributes to understanding how higher music education can build more connected learning communities that empower students to thrive artistically, academically, and personally as emerging professional musicians.