Greater Empathy makes a Better Musician

Lindsay Kupser, a jazz musician from Calgary, Alberta wrote about Empathy on the Berklee High School Jazz Festival Website Blog. 

She thought about the connection between empathy and music after a music teacher gave an empathy quotient test. 

Here's some of that blog post:

 I wondered why my teacher at a music school would want us to take this quotient. What did empathy have to do with music? But after taking the test and really thinking about it, I realized that my professor might have been on the right track. Perhaps empathy has a larger role in music than we realize.

I absolutely believe that being empathetic is extremely important in this life. In fact, without it, I don’t think relationships could really exist, musical or otherwise. Empathy enables us to put ourselves in another’s shoes, and that is the only way that help can be given to those who need it. Society would be a disaster without empathy, and I believe my empathetic nature makes me a good friend and someone who will give help when it is needed. The question is, does it make me a better musician? I believe it does, but I invite you to take this same quotient and decide for yourself if the questions being asked are applicable to music. You might be surprised!

I took the test and it turns out that I only have an average 'empathy quotient'. I like to think of myself as very empathetic!

I do believe that empathy makes music better- when it's involved in the making of the music, and when it's the listener whose empathy is involved in the appreciation of the music.