Our analysis shows that an academic discourse focusing on theory, reflection and textual production has pushed aside skills-based practice. Music is represented as something other than singing and playing instruments; practical work in music is arranged under titles like "leadership" or "group processes". A second discourse, characterized by subjectivity and relativism vis-á-vis the concept of quality, is also found in the material. Finally, a therapeutic discourse is articulated and legitimized based on an idea that teacher students should be emotionally balanced. The constructions may be regarded as strategies that legitimize aesthetic subjects that no longer have a clear identity in the primary teacher education context. The discourse on technical skills in music that previously took a hegemonic position in the discursive field has fallen apart, allowing other discourses to take root.