“Respect, Reciprocity and Responsibility” (the ‘three Rs’) are key principles which underpin “Students as Partners” pedagogy (Cook-Sather et al., 2014). Collaborative practices guided by these pedagogical principles have become fundamentally important to higher education in a global context (Gravett et al., 2020; Tanaka, 2021). Research has been carried out which explores teaching and learning in higher music education, including conservatoires (Ford, 2010; Gaunt, 2008; Gaunt & Papageorgi, 2010; Palmer and Baker, 2021; Perkins, 2013a). Likewise, there exists a growing literature on trust within student–teacher partnerships in higher education (Bayraktar et al., 2025; Carless, 2012; Felten et al., 2023). However, at the time of writing, there has been no specific research study which explores the principles of “Engaging Students as Partners” (Cook-Sather et al., 2014) within the establishment of the music conservatoire and the role that trust has to play in cultivating pedagogical partnerships in the specific context of one-to-one instrumental lessons. The purpose of the following reflection on research is to illuminate the theme of trust as it has emerged from two interview studies exploring the lived experiences of piano professors and students at a UK conservatoire.