This study investigates how young cello learners understand, represent, and position themselves and their learning in relation to their instruments during the early stages of musical development. It expands research into childhood instrumental music education, which has already explored a wide range of developmental, cognitive, psychological, and social factors influencing learner participation, with findings highlighting benefits and informing pedagogical developments. These existing studies have also examined learner persistence, the formation of a musician’s identity, and other associated positive motivational factors supporting ongoing engagement with music. However, little attention has been given to how children describe their instrumental music learning experiences and the meanings that emerge from their accounts, which are perspectives this study examines.This work is part of a larger project that used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to track and interpret the lived experiences of 14 seven-year-old beginner cellists over a period of up to four years. The current paper focuses on the ways almost half of the children studied used metaphor and imagery to describe their musical experiences, which in turn offered insights into their affiliative, creative, and expressive ways of learning.Findings are presented through six case studies, illustrating how each child interacted with and formed psychological bonds with their cello. All six children brought their instruments to life by giving them human-like qualities and treating them as companions, partners, or extensions of themselves. Four children described merging with their instrument and experiencing a sense of symbiosis between themselves and the cello. One child portrayed the cello as a powerful ally in a gladiator-style battle with music, while another shared a sense of belonging with her instrument through long-term investment. A third child gave her cello a human name and saw herself as its carer. A fourth child imagined herself as characters within narratives that matched the cello’s timbre while she played. Another child with motor skill difficulties used vivid imagery of combat between notation and cellos to express frustration and imagined a self-playing cello to overcome his challenges.The implications of the results are: the importance for teachers to recognise the depth of children’s relational involvement and imaginative connection with their instruments; to create space for creative discussion; and to use these insights as pedagogical tools for engagement, self-reflection, and learning, and so offer new insights for music education.