Music Ensemble: a large dataset on musicianship, cognition, and personality in musicians and nonmusicians

Abstract

The Music Ensemble dataset is a large-scale, cross-national database that provides detailed information about the musical, cognitive, personality, and demographic profiles of young adult musicians and nonmusicians. Data were collected from 1438 participants (aged 18-30) across thirty-five research sites in Europe, North America, South America, and Australia. Participants completed an in-person, in-lab battery of objective tests, including measures of verbal, visuospatial and musical short-term memory, executive functions (updating component), nonverbal reasoning, verbal comprehension, and music perception skills. The battery also included standardized and custom self-report questionnaires assessing music sophistication, music reward, personality traits, socioeconomic status, and demographic characteristics. Music Ensemble was preregistered, and the research protocol followed a standardized procedure across sites. The dataset also includes a large subsample of musicians and nonmusicians that are pair-matched for age, gender, and education (678 pairs). It enables well-powered investigations into the relationship between musical expertise and individual differences in cognition, personality, and demographic variables. It is also suitable for training in statistical and psychometric methods.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
Authors/Creators:	Talamini, F. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6083-0282 Grassi, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3784-2784 Altoè, G. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1154-9528 Brattico, E. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0676-6464 Caclin, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1367-5923 Carretti, B. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5147-7544 Drai-Zerbib, V. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5623-6229 Ferreri, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6143-1467 Gambarota, F. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6666-1747 Grahn, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7270-2114 Guiotto Nai Fovino, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2092-2005 Roccato, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3643-2019 Rodriguez-Fornells, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3249-6931 Swaminathan, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0940-6448 Tillmann, B. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9676-5822 Vuust, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4908-735X Wilbiks, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6882-5215 Zentner, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8580-8030 Aguilar, K. Aryanto, C.B. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6347-2505 Assis Leite, F.C. https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4569-5152 Baldé, A.M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6161-516X Başkent, D. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6560-1451 Bishop, L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0656-3969 Bortz, G. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7708-8851 Bouwer, F.L. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7064-7481 Calcus, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1240-1122 Carraturo, G. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2886-2564 Čerič, A. https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9456-2443 Criscuolo, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3192-441X Dairain, L. Dalla Bella, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9813-7408 Daniel, O. Danielsen, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1371-1533 de Parcevaux, A.-I. Dellacherie, D. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3543-8606 Detlefsen, V. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3799-5366 Endestad, T. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4403-6887 Cepero-Escribano, V. Fialho, J.L.D.B. https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6193-314X Fitzpatrick, C. Fiveash, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5760-7490 Fortier, J. https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9220-3464 Fram, N.R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0234-9922 Fullone, E. Gloggengießer, S. Gonzalez Sanchez, L. Gordon, R.L. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1643-6979 Groussard, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6749-8611 Habibi, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1420-3568 Hansen, H.M.U. https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3949-8128 Harding, E.E. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3244-9625 Hawkins, K. Herff, S.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8396-1306 Holma, V.P. Jakubowski, K. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4954-7117 Jol, M.G. Kalsi, A. Kandro, V. Kelo, R. Kotz, S.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5894-4624 Ladegam, G.S. https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7995-5406 Laeng, B. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1539-4893 Lee, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5557-3127 Lense, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4362-3032 Lima, C.F. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3058-7204 Limmer, S.P. Liu, C.K. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0804-9098 Martín Sánchez, P.D.C. McEntyre, L. Michael, J.P. Mirman, D. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5472-0220 Moltrasio, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0759-0563 Müllensiefen, D. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7297-1760 Najafi, N. Nokkala, J. Nzonlang, N. Oliveira, M.G.M. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5549-0607 Overy, K. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7271-8439 Oxenham, A.J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9365-1157 Passarotto, E. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7653-9377 Plasse, M.-E. Platel, H. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1576-0398 Poissonnier, A. Provias, V. Rajappa, N. Ripolles, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8463-3723 Ritchie, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9872-3220 Rodrigues Menezes, I.R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7251-5877 Román-Caballero, R. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0943-6217 Roncaglia, P. https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3718-0316 Rubinstein, W. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2673-6353 Sa’adullah, F.Y.-A. Saarikallio, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4647-8048 Sammler, D. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7458-0229 Samson, S. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4507-9440 Schellenberg, E.G. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3681-6020 Serres, N.R. Slevc, L.R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5183-6786 Souffiane, R.-N. Strauch, F.J. Strauss, H. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6235-4010 Tantengco, N. Tervaniemi, M. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9651-2929 Thompson, R. Timmers, R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1981-0834 Toiviainen, P. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-2957 Trainor, L.J. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3397-2079 Tuske, C. Villanueva, J. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8421-0368 von Bastian, C.C. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0667-2460 Whiteford, K.L. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2627-1509 Wood, E.A. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9302-296X Worschech, F. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7185-8870 Zappa, A. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4427-0988
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information:	© 2026 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Dates:	Accepted: 19 January 2026 Published (online): 18 February 2026 Published: 18 February 2026
Institution:	The University of Sheffield
Academic Units:	The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > School of Languages, Arts and Societies The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield)
Date Deposited:	05 Mar 2026 10:27
Last Modified:	05 Mar 2026 10:27
Published Version:	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-06654-0
Status:	Published online
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Refereed:	Yes
Identification Number:	10.1038/s41597-026-06654-0
Related URLs:	PubMed URL Dataset
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID):	oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:238638

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Music Ensemble: a large dataset on musicianship, cognition, and personality in musicians and nonmusicians

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Music Ensemble: a large dataset on musicianship, cognition, and personality in musicians and nonmusicians

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