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This paper adopts a metapsychological and musical approach to humour and laughter. A series of works and musical contexts, from opera to jazz or pop, are used to illustrate the author’s definition of the ‘work’ of laugher. The latter play an essential role in our mental life, and thanks to the open interplay between Ego, Superego and Ideals, such processes both support and invigorate the creative forces of the subject. Music is a valuable asset in bringing such processes to fruition.