Associations among music majors’ personality traits, empathy, and aptitude for ensemble performance

The present study aimed to investigate the associations between music performers’ personality and ensemble performance aptitude, and between music performers’ empathy and ensemble performance aptitude. We employed three types of questionnaires: the short form of the Japanese Big Five Scale, the Japanese multidimensional scale of empathy, and 15 items on the duration of daily music activities and the frequency of solo and ensemble performance in public. A total of 68 music majors participated in the study. The main findings are as follows: (1) positive correlations existed between ensemble aptitude and Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Openness, and between ensemble preference and Conscientiousness; (2) Extraversion was linked with daily musical activity with other performers; and (3) empathy was not associated with performers’ ensemble aptitude, whereas it was associated with solitary music activities.