Music teachers need to have wide range of knowledge and teaching skills. This includes knowledge of world music such as Japanese traditional music, methods of instruction and performance skill. The department of Music Culture Education in Hiroshima University provides a variety of lectures and seminars on Japanese traditional music as a part of music teacher training, of which playing the koto (a long Japanese zither with 13 strings) is especially stressed as a continuous learning opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of a seminar on koto performance for music students (pre-service music teachers) on undergraduate students and graduate students, and to find future issues and problems with the seminar. Data collected from students’ self-assessment on koto-learning after the seminar showed that undergraduate students were somewhat motivated to learn the koto, but could not acquire koto proficiency. Graduate students adopted a more active stance toward koto-learning than undergraduate students regardless of course credit, and they also recognized the importance of voluntary practice in addition to the seminar. This means graduate students seek to acquire certain koto performance and teaching skills that are directly linked to music lessons using the koto that they will teach in the near future. For future investigation, providing opportunities for continuous koto-learning and examining instructional materials according to students’ experience with koto were highlighted.