Jose Garza, Jr.

Dr. Jose M. Garza, Jr. is a Lecturer in the School of Music teaching music theory and aural skills. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Music Studies and Master’s degree in Music Theory from Texas State University, then attended Florida State University, where he received his Ph.D. in Music Theory. While at FSU, he served as Secretary and Forum Co-Chair for the Music Theory Society. He also performed with the Sekaa Gong Hanuman Agung Balinese Gamelan and FSU Rock Ensemble.

Dr. Garza’s dissertation, “Adapt and Prevail: New Applications of Rhythmic and Metric Analysis in Contemporary Metal Music,” examines paradigmatic structures in metalcore, progressive metal, and death metal from the latter half of the 1990s to today. He implements existing models of analysis and introduces new modes of analysis.

Dr. Garza’s scholarship deals primarily with rhythm, meter, and musical meaning in popular music, particularly metal and punk rock. His other research interests include video game music, percussion repertoire, and twentieth- and twenty-first-century art music repertoire. He has presented this work at several regional and national conferences, including Music Theory Southeast, Music and the Moving Image, and Texas Society for Music Theory.