Main description:

In recent years, empathy has received considerable research attention as a means of understanding a range of psychological phenomena, and it is fast drawing attention within the fields of music psychology and music education. This volume seeks to promote and stimulate further research in music and empathy, with contributions from many of the leading scholars in the fields of music psychology, neuroscience, music philosophy and education. It exposes current developmental, cognitive, social and philosophical perspectives on research in music and empathy, and considers the notion in relation to our engagement with different types of music and media. Following a Prologue, the volume presents twelve chapters organised into two main areas of enquiry. The first section, entitled 'Empathy and Musical Engagement', explores empathy in music education and therapy settings, and provides social, cognitive and philosophical perspectives about empathy in relation to our interaction with music. The second section, entitled 'Empathy in Performing Together', provides insights into the role of empathy across non-Western, classical, jazz and popular performance domains. This book will be of interest to music educators, musicologists, performers and practitioners, as well as scholars from other disciplines with an interest in empathy research.

Contents:

Introduction

Prologue: Revisiting the Problem of Empathy

Part 1: Empathy and Musical Engagement

Chapter 1: Towards a Developmental Model of Musical Empathy Using Insights from Children who are on the Autism Spectrum or who have Learning Difficulties

Chapter 2: Synchronisation - A Musical Substrate for Positive Social Interaction and Empathy

Chapter 3: Music: The Language of Empathy

Chapter 4: The Social Side of Music Listening: Empathy and Contagion in Music-Induced Emotions

Chapter 5: Audience Responses in the Light of Perception-Action Theories of Empathy

Chapter 6: Viewing Empathy in Jazz Performance

Part 2: Empathy in Performing Together

Chapter 7: Otherwise Than Participation: Unity and Alterity in Musical Encounters

Chapter 8: In Dub Conference: Empathy, Groove and Technology in Jamaican Popular Music

Chapter 9: Empathy of the Musical Brain in Musicians Playing In Ensemble

Chapter 10: When it Clicks: Co-Performer Empathy in Ensemble Playing

Chapter 11: Developing Trust with Others: Or, How to Empathise Like a Performer

Chapter 12: The Empathic Nature of the Piano Accompanist