ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents an alternative historical and political context of research-creation and some of its surrounding practices. It explores the pedagogical potential of research-creation within a university-based environment. The book suggests that musicians should ideally be able to define their position, to situate their practice and conception of the music—not just for themselves, but for the audience as well. It discusses a number of concepts and methods that serve in its development, notably with regard to collaboration. The book also explores several constitutive elements leading to the "hyphenation" of research-creation in music, and more largely, in any human activity involving an interaction between practice and research. It also presents a general definition of research-creation and delimits its epistemological framework. The book highlights what collaboration can bring to the concept of research-creation, and how it contributes to the characterization of the discipline more broadly.
