This study was intended to reveal pre-service music teachers' perceptions of the concept of a "music teaching program" with the use of metaphors. Its sample included 130 pre-service music teachers in the Music Teaching Program of Fine Arts Teaching Department in Balikesir University's Education Faculty. The study data were collected by having the participants complete the sentences: "The music teaching program is like... because..." and "The music teaching program is similar to... because...." The study's qualitative data were collected using a survey form with open-ended questions. Subsequently, the data were interpreted using content analysis. The pre-service music teachers produced 30 metaphors. These metaphors were classified into six conceptual groups based on their shared aspects. The study concluded that pre-service music teachers explained the concept of a "music teaching program" using a variety of metaphors.