While discussions of health and wellness in music teacher education have largely concentrated on physical health and injury prevention, the prevention of psychological harm remains underexplored. Trauma and trauma and trauma-informed pedagogy have been addressed broadly in music education (Bradely & Hess, 2022) and in the experiences of professional musicians (Ramstedt, 2023). Yet, while trauma-informed approaches are often predicated on easing the effects of trauma that students bring into educational settings, this approach remains incomplete without an understanding of how music teaching might also become a source of trauma for some. In this philosophical inquiry, I examine the nature of trauma as it manifests in music pedagogy within the Western classical tradition.Trauma is often understood as a singular, exceptional event that causes lasting psychological harm (SAMHSA, 2014). In the context of music pedagogy, one might consider examples of sexual abuse within vulnerable, one to one teaching scenarios. Drawing on Pollock’s concept of the Event and the Everyday (Koivisto-Kassik, 2024; Pollock, 2018), I argue that trauma in music pedagogy cannot be understood solely through pernicious events. Rather, traumatic events must be contextualized in the everyday circumstances within which they occur; within everyday interactions that normalize small but pervasive acts of harm.In the context of Western classical music, teachers and students often interact within the roles of master and apprentice through which the master acts as gatekeeper tasked with conserving tradition. Privileging tradition can result in an oppressive relationship that comes with a human cost in which the excellence of a musical product becomes more important than the people involved (Allsup, 2016; Hess, 2024; Ramstedt, 2023). When the end of music pedagogy is the conservation of a musical work, harmful means become justified. Said differently, behaviors such as yelling, shaming, and belittling are accepted so long as they serve the execution of an excellent musical product.Despite efforts toward diversification, music teacher preparation remains rooted in induction into existing practices, allowing for the replication of harmful pedagogical practices. When such practices go unquestioned, they may become normalized or internalized as models of strength and success. Viewed differently, if students experience trauma through music pedagogy, some of the practices they adopt may constitute a form of traumatic repetition. Yet, music teacher education also represents an opportunity to disrupt these cycles of trauma. I conclude by offering a reimaging of Western classical music instruction through confronting the inherited norms of its own tradition, fostering pedagogical approaches that prioritize ethical relationality and the well-being of both teachers and students.