ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Performance Science
This article is part of the Research TopicDeveloping Musical Expression, Communication, and WellbeingView all articles
Empathic Experience Through Live Piano Improvisation and Co-Creative Expression: A Qualitative Study Across Three Group Contexts
Provisionally accepted
- 1Independent researcher, Groningen, Netherlands
- 2Frank Mohr Institute, Hanzehogeschool Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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This artistic research examines how live piano improvisation, together with structured reflective participation, can support collective experiences associated with empathy. Drawing on relational theories of empathy and informed by Persian Sufi literature as a conceptual lens, the study investigates how improvised musical environments may function as shared experiential settings that encourage emotional grounding, openness, and relational awareness within groups. The research consists of three iterative participatory performances in distinct social contexts. Experiment 1, with Fine Art master's students, paired live improvisation with reflective writing and sequential sharing, generating self-disclosure and interpersonal care. Experiment 2, with over thirty international students, employed QR-based anonymous exchange, eliciting responses ranging from catharsis and recognition to hesitation and ethical sensitivity. Experiment 3, in a neighborhood community center, combined writing, drawing, anonymous exchange, and facilitated discussion; participants described calmness, recollection, emotional release, and curiosity toward others' expressions. A qualitative thematic analysis identified three core experiential processes, including emotional grounding, expressive externalization, and relational mirroring. These patterns appeared across contexts and helped describe how participants interpreted their empathic experience, presenting as interpretive themes emerging from the data. The study contributes to discussions in musical communication, participatory arts, and community engagement by highlighting how carefully structured artistic environments can invite emotional resonance without therapeutic framing.
Keywords: Community Engagement, emotional grounding, Empathy, multimodalexpression, Musical improvisation, participatory art
Received: 24 Dec 2025; Accepted: 29 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Khani. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Sadaf Khani
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