The Music Theory Club at UTSA studies listening habits of college students

(Feb. 15, 2019) -- The Music Theory Club (MTC) at UTSA is leaving its mark in the world of music academia. The organization’s members, who conducted a large-scale research project and oversaw scholastic tutoring and test preparation for their peers last year, are preparing to present a second independent research project at the Texas Society for Music Theory Conference Feb. 22 and 23 at Texas State University.

The UTSA student researchers, led by Jennifer Beavers, UTSA assistant professor of music theory and the organization’s faculty sponsor, will present findings from a two-part research project—What are college students listening to and how ‘complex’ is it?—that collects everyday listening samples in a naturalistic setting. MTC members, including Michael Quintero, Mollianne Flood, Alissa Stolt, Matthew Moreno, Natalie Morales and Dito Sáenz, will be applying their learned music theory skills to everyday listening samples collected by canvasing UTSA’s students in hopes of finding new genres and techniques of music theory to be adapted into the classroom.

“We wanted to find a research question that would interest all of us,” said Beavers. “These eager students have a real passion for exploring new repertoires and applying their knowledge and experiences. I followed their passion and I think we arrived at an exciting, challenging and relevant research question that not only adds value to their education, but has the potential to influence college music pedagogy, and offer insight into the level of complexity in everyday listening experiences.”

>> Learn more about the UTSA Department of Music.

“I believe this research can change the way students, and people everywhere view the realm of music theory,” said Sáenz, a UTSA junior music major originally from Houston and the organization’s president. “Being able to work as a group of students who have all come together to seek answers to things we are not necessarily taught as part of our degree plan allows us to be more flexible with the pacing of learning and ultimately bring pleasure and intent to the experience.” 

“Music Theory Club is an excellent precursor to graduate level academic research that allows us to collaborate with other students in a way similar to that of a study intended for a published research journal,” said club member Michael Tijerina, a senior music major from San Antonio.

The MTC strives to create equal learning opportunities that promote diversity and relevancy so that music theory can live beyond the textbooks. It’s comprises of a diverse group of music and non–music majors who seek to answer questions which are not typically answered within the classroom. In addition to this research project, the members also offer tutorials and test preparation sessions for their peers and meet monthly to discuss music theory topics.

“San Antonio is such a great position to explore these demographic studies, as everyone offers something new and exciting to the table,” added Sáenz.”This can be reflected in the Department of Music here at UTSA as well. At the end of the day, the most important thing is that music binds us all, and we sing as one.”

— Dito Sáenz

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