Practice Research = why creativity can generate knowledge
Practice Research – What Is It?
Practice research (sometimes called practice-based or practice-led research) is a way of generating knowledge through the creative process itself. In music, this means that composing, performing, producing, or curating are not just outcomes but methods of enquiry. The creative act becomes the primary way of investigating questions—whether exploring musical identities, technologies, audiences, or creative decision-making. Crucially, practice research involves both doing and reflecting: you create music to find things out, and you reflect on that process to share insights with others. Documentation (such as recordings, performance notes, or reflective commentaries) helps communicate how artistic practice contributes to understanding wider issues in music and culture.
Core focus:
Music-making as a legitimate mode of knowledge production
The musical artefact (performance, composition, recording) as research output
Typical methods/tools:
Composition, performance, improvisation
Practice documentation (recordings, scores, rehearsal notes)
Exegesis or critical commentary
Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) – Practice Research in the Arts.
https://www.ukri.org/blog/practice-makes-perfect-how-ahrc-is-supporting-practice-research/
All research involves some form of practice and the idea of practice as research has emerged in many disciplinary contexts. Practice research is usually characterised by the production of outputs in non-text-based forms including artefacts, performances, and exhibitions. Given the breadth of outputs and methods this potentially covers, practice research has many different meanings, depending on the context.
AHRC is inclusive in its definition to encompass any form of arts and humanities research that incorporates, reflects upon, or embodies practice as part of the research process or the research outputs. This covers a myriad of topics and approaches across many disciplines including, for AHRC, areas of research as distinct and broad as design; visual arts; music; audio-visual and digital creativity; community and action-based research, performance and making.
Collinson Scott, J. (2021). Songwriting as Method: Exploring the Emotional and Ethical Dimensions of Practice Research in Music. University of the West of Scotland. ORCID profile
Case Study Spotlight: Dr Jo Collinson Scott (aka Jo Mango)
Dr Jo Collinson Scott’s work demonstrates how songwriting and performance can function as research. As both a scholar and performing artist (Jo Mango), she uses creative music-making to explore complex social themes such as crime, reintegration, climate change, and mental health. Through projects like Distant Voices – Coming Home and Fields of Green, she shows how collaborative songwriting can generate empathy, dialogue, and public understanding around difficult topics. Her approach combines emotional insight, ethical reflection, and artistic practice to reveal how music itself can produce new forms of knowledge and social connection.
