Teacher Development

Ready to hone your skills as a teacher and practice the Suzuki Method? You’re in the right place! The SAA offers a wide variety of professional development opportunities for teachers. Our Teacher Development program is designed for musicians, educators, artists, and those who believe in the power music has in our communities. Through our Teacher Development program, teachers learn to practice the Suzuki Method – one of the world’s most well-known teaching methods (for good reason!). We support our teachers in prioritizing the development of fine character alongside excellent music-making for their students, and create endless opportunities to refine, refresh, and reinvigorate your practice.

We offer training courses for teachers of these instruments: bass, cello, euphonium, flute, French horn, guitar, harp, organ, piano, recorder, trumpet, trombone, tuba, viola, violin, and voice.

If you wish to purchase Suzuki books or find audio downloads to support your study of the Suzuki repertoire, visit the Alfred website.

Below is a step-by-step guide for honing your craft and learning to practice the Suzuki Method. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at [email protected].

1. Take Every Child Can! (ECC) or Filosofia. These are introductory courses to the Suzuki philosophy and method. Besides teachers of all instruments, we highly encourage parents and administrators to participate.
   • No teaching experience, audition, or membership is required, although you will need a free SAA login.
   • ECC is offered in the US and Canada in English, while Filosofia is offered in Central and South America in Spanish or Portuguese.
   • Visit our Events page to see all upcoming courses, and use the event types filter on the right to see only Foundation Courses (ECC and Filosofia).
     
     
2. Become a member! Join the SAA today. Joining the SAA means joining a community of teachers committed to furthering their practice! Active Membership is required for anyone wishing to continue their teacher development journey.
   
   
3. Submit an audition video. Be sure to read through our Audition Guidelines & Audition Repertoire. We ask that teachers submit auditions because we believe musicianship matters for our students and parents!
   • Auditions may take several weeks to process, so please keep this in mind when you are planning for future enrollment. We recommend submitting auditions 6-8 weeks in advance of the course start. We will accept auditions at any time, but cannot guarantee evaluation on your timeline.
   • Need support on your audition? Have an accessibility need or a question? Write to us at [email protected].
     
     
4. Begin your in-depth instrumental coursework!
   • We offer unit courses, training on how to teach each book of the Suzuki repertoire. Unit courses are available year-round; you can participate online or in person at private studios, summer institutes, and festivals. A few universities offer long-term, degree-granting Suzuki training.
   • Start with Unit 1. Unit 1 unlocks additional courses, including Unit 2, all enrichment courses and Teaching Strategies.
   • Unit 1 + one year of Suzuki teaching experience unlock Suzuki Principles in Action and Practicum.
   • After Unit 1, and before Unit 3, you’ll need to take Teaching Strategies.
   • We recommend taking unit courses in order, but once you complete unit 3 (unit 4 on viola), you are welcome to take unit courses in any order.
   • We recommend leaving time between your training courses to allow for reflection and solidification of skills, repertoire, and knowledge. For SECE courses, one year of teaching experience is required between each stage of training.
     
     
5. Apply for a Certificate of Achievement
   • If you’re interested in furthering your accomplishments as a Suzuki Teacher, learn more about and apply for our Certificate of Achievement!
     
     
6. Interested in supporting adults in teaching? Learn more about becoming a Teacher Trainer at this link!

How to enroll in SAA Courses

1. You need a free account to enroll in ECC or Filosofia. For all other SAA courses, you need Active Membership.
   
   
2. From the Events page, select the course you’d like to sign up for. Our enrollment system will verify your membership status, course prerequisites, and audition requirements. If you are not yet eligible for a course, it will present the option to join the waitlist at the bottom of the event page. If you see the option to get tickets, you are eligible to participate in the course.
   
   
3. After reading all the course details, scroll to the bottom of the page, add 1 ticket, and click “Get Tickets”.
   • A price next to the tickets does not necessarily mean that you will pay for the course on the SAA website. Likewise, a course marked FREE indicates that the course organizer did not enter the price. Look for details in the course description.
   • All ticket prices are listed in USD next to the tickets; however, you will see the approximate price at the top of the page listed in the local currency of the address in your profile (see photos below).
     
     
4. Confirm your name & email address and complete your registration. This may involve payment on the SAA site, depending on how the course organizer has set up the course.
   
   
5. You will receive an email confirmation of your enrollment. You will also be able to see it on your profile page under Upcoming Events.
   • If you do not pay on the SAA website, it is your responsibility to contact the course organizer regarding payment. There is usually a link or contact information in your confirmation email.
     
   • You are not considered enrolled in the course until you have paid.
     
     
6. Once you completed the course, and your Teacher Trainer marks the roster, the course will show up on your SAA profile and your course completion certificate. If you have any issues with your profile following the end of your course, please email us at [email protected].
   
   
7. Following the end of the course, you’ll receive a course evaluation survey. Please complete this survey at your earliest convenience! Your feedback helps us improve our coursework!