Josh Mills has been teaching since 2009. His goal is to create an environment for students that showcases the fun of playing music.  Over the course of his teaching experience, he learned that the most important aspect of teaching is to follow a student’s passions.  Most students want to learn music written by pop stars and rock stars, so he began to transcribe songs by popular artists like The Beatles, Coldplay, Zac Brown Band, Michael Jackson, and Taylor Swift.  

Transcribing country, rock, and pop songs provides an opportunity discuss larger theoretical topics like the difference between harmony and melody, different types of music notation, form, and improvisation.  Even though he transcribes songs by request for all of his students, Mr. Mills uses these transcriptions alongside a standard curriculum.  While it is crucial that students learn the formal aspects of music, it should be based in a personal connection rather than academic expectations.  In October of 2014, he started a blog dedicated to his teaching approach at www.joshmillsmusic.com.

Throughout the duration of his pedagogical interests, Josh Mills has attended Collin College, The University of San Antonio, and Southern Methodist University to deepen his understanding of music and performing guitar.  Initially a self-taught electric and acoustic guitarist, he has devoted his time to learning several styles which include jazz, blues, rock, metal, and classical.  Josh incorporates all of these styles into his teaching.

As a recipient of academic scholarships and institutional grants, Mr. Mills has taken the opportunity to perform in masterclasses with Jason Vieaux, Berta Rojas, Ricardo Cobo, Gabriel Bianco, and Bill Kanengiser.  In 2013, Mr. Mills graduated from UTSA with a Bachelor of Music degree in Classical Guitar Performance. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree at SMU, and will graduate in the Spring of 2016.

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” —Albert Einstein