The purpose of this report was to review the literature on and closely related to empathy development in music education and to augment music educators’ knowledge of empathy development practices within their own professional contexts. In this review of literature, I explore empathy development in music education by investigating (a) the definitions, types, and characteristics of empathy; (b) empathy education; (c) empathy in the context of musical group interaction; (d) empathy in the context of music ensembles; and (e) empathy development in music education settings. Scholars have suggested that empathy may support positive behaviors including perspective-taking, active listening, helping, and caring for and about others. Due in part to the empathic characteristics of music and interactive music activities, music classrooms provide a potentially empathy-rich environment in which teachers may engage students in empathy development. I end the review by discussing implications and suggested practices for music educators.
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