This course prepares participants to teach the foundational stage of violin study, where students learn entirely by ear and note-reading is intentionally delayed. Participants examine why this sequencing matters, and how to build a student’s aural memory and listening habits from the very first lesson.

Participants learn to teach correct posture, bow hold, and early tone production, along with the core bow strokes and left-hand finger patterns that underpin all later technique. The course covers how to break these foundational skills into small, teachable steps appropriate for young beginners, and how to sequence them so each new skill builds securely on the last.

Participants also learn to develop a student’s rhythmic accuracy and steady pulse, and to use repetition, listening, and parent involvement to reinforce these fundamentals between lessons. The course addresses common challenges at this stage and how to troubleshoot them while keeping instruction age-appropriate and encouraging.

How to Enroll

You must be logged in to your SAA account and have Active/Professional Membership to join the course roster and pay the nonrefundable $20 deposit, below.

Scroll down to the bottom of this page to the enrollment box, click “+”, then click “get tickets”. Follow the prompts to enter your payment information and answer these questions before joining the roster:

• Do you have a music degree? 
• In your best estimation and using this rubric, are you able to perform the Basic Audition repertoire?
• Describe your teaching & performing experience on the instrument.

After getting tickets below, you’ll receive a confirmation email from the SAA with details on how to pay the balance of the course tuition. Check your spam folder if you don’t see it in your inbox.

If the enrollment box is not visible and you only see the waitlist option, it means you are missing the course prerequisite of ECC on your training profile. Please join the waitlist while you complete that requirement. You can verify your waitlist status from your profile: https://suzukiassociation.org/person-profile/

If you have any trouble enrolling or if your profile needs to be updated, please write to [email protected] with the details. 

All transactions are final and non-refundable.