Music education continues to be marginalised regarding the hours allocated for preparation within initial teacher education (ITE) tertiary courses in Australia, while schools continue to juggle subject priorities amidst the heightened focus on core learning areas, placing emphasis on external systems requirements and standardised testing regimes. Workforce data highlight the shortfall of teachers in the profession, illustrating the ongoing need to replenish schools with teachers in the years ahead (Australian Government, 2022). Preparing an adequate supply of music educators has never been more critical, while the ongoing discourse between having generalist and specialist music teachers pervades this space.This study is situated in Australia where the Arts is one of the key learning areas in the Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2025). This research forms part of an ethically approved ongoing study that focuses on Arts Education (Music) at three universities in Australia. Employing a Qualtrics survey, data were collected online from ITE primary students across three phases (2023, 2024, 2025). Using a mixed methodology (Creswell, 2015), the authors collaboratively discussed and analysed a range of rating scales and open-ended items through telephone, email, and zoom meetings. Drawing on a combination of descriptive and thematic analyses (Braun & Clarke, 2022), three emerging themes will be presented (perspectives of confidence levels, preparation and challenges for teaching music, opportunities and implications using ICT and AI).The findings highlight the aspirations and concerns within the primary context with a continued acknowledgement for more time to learn about music practice within ITE courses. The data also illustrates difference regarding gender-based analysis, through students’ perceptions of their preparedness and confidence to teach music. In addition, the findings outline the implications of the use a range of digital tools in music education. This paper discusses a small dataset across three years, subsequently generalisations cannot be made to all universities in Australia. The findings into the experiences of future teachers as they cross the bridge into the classroom are compelling and may resonate with other locations around the globe. Recommendations are offered, highlighting the imperative for further investigation into the benefits of teaching music in schools combined with identification of critical points for further action within teacher preparation programs within Arts Education. Our findings contribute to national and international debates about music education provision, resources, and training regarding how best we can build bridges ITE primary students to include music in their future classrooms.Keywords: primary music education, teacher confidence, digital technologies.