This slightly provocative question came to me after viewing a series of photos of children taken during an introductory music course.
There was not a moment when these children were not joyful, for an hour!
Talking about joy today often conjures up an image of a gentle enlightened person, disconnected from the harsh reality of life.
And these days, the atmosphere is not joyful…
Yet, far from being enlightened, we draw strength from the joyful sharing during our music education classes, from the spontaneous laughter of the children provoked by simple musical contrasts, as much as from their looks of intense interiority when they hear a simple bell or the resonance of a cymbal…
You don’t have to be a clown to do this (although it can help!).
Joy is an essential element of life, and musical education is a privileged moment to trigger and maintain it.
Because we are always looking for that feeling that takes us a little beyond ourselves for a moment.
This makes it a determining element of motivation, even if it means making some effort to achieve it, knowing the pleasure (self-satisfaction?) that will follow.
Because in the end, what is the point of sharing these moments of music if it is not to be happier?
Christophe Lazerges – Grenoble – France.