The aim of this study is to create an understanding of how music teachers’ experience playing music by heart and how they experience that playing by heart may affect the students when they play music. The empirical material was based on semi-structured interviews with five music teachers from Sweden’s Art and Music Schools (kultur- eller musikskolor in Swedish). A hermeneutic perspective was used as a theoretical framework in order to analyze music teachers’ experience. The results of this study showed that music teachers’ experience of playing music by heart conduct a greater attention to listening and presence. Playing by heart can lead to improvement of playing with others and it may also increase students’ practice. There are different expectations regarding playing music by heart due to genre and instrument. In pop, rock, jazz and piano and also professional musicians there are expectations of playing music by heart. Students’ motivation may be helped by playing music by heart because several students’ have a problem with reading sheet music. This study shows that the experience of a students’ performance is perceived more positively when playing by heart, but it depends on the genre and instrument and their expectations. The understanding of how music teachers’ experience of playing music by heart is the conclusion that the traditions of music influence the music teachers’ perception of the possibilities of their students’ playing music by heart. Most of the student’s prefer playing music by heart rather than reading sheet music. Further conclusions are that music education should be adapted to each and every student due to some students prefer playing by heart and other prefer reading sheet music. By adapting the music education, it enables the students to playing music with joy. Plying music by heart may promote a feeling for the students of “here I am” and “I can do this”.