Research Into Songwriting / Songwriting as Research: A Model for Iterative Creative Practice

This article explores the ways in which research and the creative practice of songwriting can intersect and inform each other. In a critique of some of the current academic discourse on creative practice methodology, this paper argues for a reframing of these concepts as methods that intersect with research. In this paper, I identify two primary modes in which songwriting and research can relate: research into the creative practice of songwriting; and research that involves the creative practice of songwriting. Using my PhD project as an example, this paper outlines how using songwriting can be effectively positioned as the creative act in a linear series of theorisations, practices, and evaluations that relate to a broader methodology. In this example, songwriting, amongst other methods, is initially used to interrogate popular song structure, while a second songwriting practice explores the results from a narrative theory method of analysis. This article asserts that this iterative creative practice research approach can be implemented to explore any number of theorisations, modes of practice, and research questions.