This paper explores the intersection of U.S. graduate music student experiences and mental health. A literature review discussing nineteenth-century mechanist piano pedagogy practices, Carl Seashore's Measures of Musical Talent, the impact of neoliberal capitalism on students, and an overview of current U.S. studies on university music student mental health underscore the need for further inquiry into the student experience. I held eight semi-structured interviews with current or former U.S. graduate music students focused on their experiences as a music major. Through poetic inquiry and qualitative content-coding, the interview transcripts were analyzed and organized into poetic portraits representing the collective essence of the lived experiences of the interviewees. The set of eight poems, "Portraits of a Wonderful Musician," explores uncovered codes including: identity, self-perception, pressure, expectations, urgency, anxiety, the pursuit of perfection, guilt, depression, criticism, comparison, and burnout. Grounded in phenomenology, this paper foregrounds the subjective lived experiences of those interviewed and demonstrates how these rich understandings can inform current music education trends and practices. Poetic inquiry and coding revealed a correlation between traditionalist pedagogical practices and students exhibiting fixed mindset traits, which are associated with the negative lived student experiences. Influenced by the historical, social, and cultural constraints of music pedagogies, teachers and students can benefit from student-centered learning approaches, deliberate practice strategies, and modeling growth mindsets to proactively challenge detrimental traditions. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]