Ringató

Our regular Ringató sessions:

session leaders

towns and cities

locations

What is Ringató?

a Ringató singing-and-play session for families with young children;
a community of educators and teachers who love and practise singing and organise sessions for families with young children;
a music education method that received the Hungarian Heritage Award in 2021;
a popular book series;
a publishing house operating since 2018;
a television programme produced in 1998 entitled Ringató;
a foundation.

About Ringató sessions

The aim of Ringató sessions is to introduce families with young children to the possibilities of music education in a relaxed, loving atmosphere, and to let parents experience the joy of singing and playing together with their children.

The focus is not on teaching or developing the children. Above all, we want to awaken adults' desire to sing, encourage them and help them choose valuable musical material.

Musical experience from the earliest age

It is important to us that children's artistic education - including music education - should begin at the earliest age, helping them become sensitive and receptive to good music and the arts.

That is why we surround them with live singing, rhymes, nursery rhymes and instrumental music, and they can also join in lap games if they feel like it.

Who can take part in the sessions?

Children are welcome at Ringató sessions from just a few months of age until the beginning of kindergarten, together with their parents and grandparents.

Alongside the joy of singing, rhyming and lap games together, parents can learn songs, rhymes and games that they can happily sing and play with their children at home.

We do not divide children into age groups. We are delighted when fathers and grandparents join the sessions as well as mothers.

Families can join the groups at any time; advance registration is generally not required.

How do Ringató sessions work?

Regular, traditional Ringató sessions last 30 minutes.

Stage or concert-style Ringató events, as well as weekend, festive or "dads'" sessions, may differ from this.

The calm atmosphere of the sessions can be disturbed by toys being brought out or by food and drinks left within reach.

What should you keep in mind when attending?

Late arrivals, conversations between adults or a ringing mobile phone can also disrupt the session.

Participants sit on chairs or on the carpet, so comfortable clothing, socks - even in summer - and indoor shoes are practical.

Participation fee

Participation fees vary by location and are generally HUF 2,000-2,500.

We also regularly organise free programmes.

For the current participation fee, please contact the session leader at the relevant location.

Where can I find a Ringató session?

Our website lists all our session leaders and all our locations in Hungary and abroad.

I hope that families with young children throughout Hungary and beyond our borders will find us and take joy in singing and playing together.

"Ringató has now travelled throughout Hungary, the Carpathian Basin, several European countries and even overseas. The most important thing is to offer a singing-and-play experience to adults and the youngest children alike.

Together with my students, we turn to art to use it as a tool for education. We show one possible path towards a fulfilling life - not the only one, not the best one, but one among many: a reliably good one."

(Ilona Gróh)

Ringató in English

Methodology

About Ringató

Practical information

Hungarian Heritage Award

…what music educator Ilona Gróh has created with the Ringató music education programme since 1991, over the past 30 years, can without exaggeration be called a miracle.

In our modern world, defying the forces that pull us down, she restored to mothers and fathers that seemingly forgotten knowledge and skill which used to be natural in traditional rural life.

Thanks to the Ringató programme, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of parents in Hungary and abroad are singing to and with their children again.

Ilona Gróh created the background for this: she not only developed the method, but also taught young, talented educators how to apply it."

Excerpt dr. Solymosi-Tari Emőke music historian,
from the tribute by a full member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts,
delivered at the presentation of the Hungarian Heritage Award in September 2021

Ringató as a trademark

The "Ringató session" is a trademark registered with the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office (formerly the Hungarian Patent Office) under registration number 189 845.

Network and shared professional foundations

In our continually expanding network, which now extends beyond Hungary's borders, my colleagues who have completed the Ringató course hold sessions under the Ringató name. We work with the same methods and follow the same principles. Naturally, every session leader brings her own personality to these programmes, and that is exactly as it should be.

Not a franchise

Ringató is not a franchise; there is no economic relationship between the trademark owner and trademark users.

A professional and human community

The group of session leaders is a professional and friendly community whose members think similarly about education, art and the relationship between the two, and who follow the same values.

About the Ringató methodology course

Leading a Ringató session requires specific abilities and knowledge. The arts-education expertise required for this is currently taught exclusively on the Ringató methodology course organised and taught by Ilona Gróh.

Entry requirements

Admission to the course is subject to an aptitude assessment. Essential skills include music reading, appropriate singing ability, a sense of rhythm, a good musical ear and prior musical experience such as choir membership, music-school studies or instrumental skills.