Tears, yes, but of joy. The joy of playing.

During a lesson with a student who started a couple of months ago, it happened again: real tears of joy.

After very few meetings, thanks to her commitment, a lesson dedicated to the execution of a simple but solid pattern. And here those notes, those "signs" on the sheet, abstract and maybe even monotonous until a moment before, take on a meaning. An increasingly clear and defined meaning.

So, unexpectedly, I propose a tune that starts to play from the PA system. I ask her to play what we had just rehearsed. She begins, with no small amount of skepticism, almost as if to say "And do you expect me to be able to play on a song now…?".

And here is the magic.

The strokes, at first not very decisive, then gradually aligned with the tempo. Like trying to ride a bike without training wheels… Be confident, aware.

A smile begins to light up her concentrated face, her eyes get redder and then... Tears run down her cheeks as she bursts into laughter: "But it's nice to play real music!". The joy of her.

And mine too.