After my last post on “how to practice” I thought that we should look at the other side of practice, the joyful part.
Joyfulness is defined as ” 1. full of joy, as a person or one’s heart; glad; delighted. 2. showing or expressing joy, as looks, actions, or speech. 3. causing or bringing joy, as an event, a sight, or news; delightful:” Looking at it in those three ways there are three ways to have a joyful practice session.
The first is how I “practice” most of the time, which isn’t so much practice as it is playing. Playing the songs that make me feel good, they bring joy to me (even though I sometimes make a terrible mess of what I am trying to play but that is ok because I am happy when I am doing it). This would be when you sit down and play old favorites, play what you feel like and don’t worry about the results. Play for the joy of it.
The second is how Carlos, or Dean, or any life long musician plays, joyfully, like nothing can go wrong as long as he is behind the piano. Joyfully expressing his emotions through his playing. An extension of his soul coming out in how he plays. I feel that a lot of the recorded artists, the truly passionate ones, the ones who can send shivers down your spine are doing this, expressing emotion through sound. When Carlos, or anyone with that ability sits and plays you can’t help but feel the joy they are spreading (or what ever other emotion it happens to be). 
The third ties into the second I think, but it is more about the audience, bringing them joy. You don’t have to be a world class musician to make your audience feel. We see it every year, the joy that parents and grandparents feel to watch their children and grandchildren play at our concerts. The pleasure that comes from listening to some one practice the same phrase over and over and the finally get it. That moment of relief for them, that joyful accomplishment. That is what I like best about what we do here, that a ha moment of accomplishment.
So, in closing, do you play joyfully? For yourself, for your soul, for your audience? What makes you feel joyful when you are sitting behind your instrument, or standing on stage?