This study explores the complexities of caring for students in a music studio lesson. In this study, we engaged four experienced string teachers in in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore their understandings of caring for their students in studio music lessons. Caring and compassion are concepts that have received greater attention in music education literature in recent years. A critical turn in music education has accompanied this attention. We connect these two discourses through a theoretical framework of mature care as transformative practice. This framework is situated in Pettersen's concept of mature care. We applied the listening guide method of qualitative research and the gateway approach to analysis to create four found poems based on semi-structured interviews held with four experienced South African string teachers. This article illustrates the complex nature of the meanings of care, and advocates for instrumental music teacher preparation that ensures instrumental music education is infused with an ethic of care.