Empathic Alignment

This chapter examines the proposition that empathic alignment in free improvisation results in each ensemble player collaboratively and inclusively connecting as a group without conscious thought or consideration. It explores how group intuition is connected to trust, drawing on and contextualising the insights of improvisers who discuss their experiences and methods of communication that illuminate how group choices are made in the free improvisation process. It discusses the role and significance of the audience, focusing on how live interactions between the musicians and the audience can either elevate or hinder the improvisatory process. This chapter concludes with the argument that empathic alignment in free improvisation is both a precondition for and a by-product of collaborative trust.