:: Suzuki Association of the Americas Guidelines ::
The SAA considers training to be professional pedagogical study, i.e. for professional musicians, for course content, pace and audition purposes.

Applicants for short-term Suzuki teacher training courses may take SAA Unit courses as a Participant or Auditor. To qualify as a Participant in Short-Term courses, you must submit an audition to the SAA, preferably prior to enrollment, along with the required fees and a completed tape application form. An accepted audition permits you to be a Participant in training for the levels accepted, at any future time. With an accepted audition and a completed training unit as a Participant, you then register that course with the SAA prior to teaching that level. Training is to be taken and registered in order through Bk. 2. Violin and viola audition acceptance is interchangeable through Bk. 4 only; the violin and viola courses are interchangeable through Bk. 3.

For courses occurring during the summer 2008, applicants submitting tapes later than 8 weeks prior to the start of your course may not receive audition results prior to the start of the course. An applicant may enroll late as “tape pending”, but will incur late fees, and audition results determining eligibility for participant credit will not be available until after the course.

:: Application Process ::

Eligibility requirements for Short-term teacher training courses

  1. High school graduation
  2. Video audition accepted by SAA

Send videotape, application form and fee to the SAA office.

  1. If you have already taken book courses in previous years, those books remain valid. However, one of the above videotape approval processes will be required prior to acceptance as a participant in any further training courses.
  2. SAA requires that courses be taken in sequence through Book 2 (Violists may use Violin Course book 1 - 3 to fulfill viola teacher training requirements.)
  3. Only one short term teacher SAA training course may be taken at the same time. Many violin, viola, cello, piano, and flute courses are offered consecutively so one or more may be taken during the 2008 Institute sessions.
  4. All applicants are expected to prepare the book to be studied to the point of fluent performance. Memory is not required but is recommended. Eight hours of observation of student classes is required for each course. Trainers will recommend specific observations with the bulk done at the book level being studied.Trainees will record their observations in a format prescribed by the trainer.
  5. Advanced high school students may be admitted to the course as auditors, but SAA course registration forms will not be issued to high school students.
  6. Participants who have met the course requirements, including 100% class attendance, will receive a form signed by the Teacher Trainer which can be registered with SAA for a small fee.
  7. Teachers are encouraged to take courses over again to as new ideas and deeper understanding are always gained.
  8. Teachers enrolling in Book 1 and beyond must be current, active SAA members. If you need an SAA membership form you can download the form here.

Teachers may attend recitals and concerts, and observe individual and group lessons of any Institute student. There are free daily teacher development seminars of wide appeal.

Teacher training classes are limited to 15 people for all instruments.

Teacher Practicum classes are limited to 5 people for all instruments.