The High School Seniors Guide on: Preparing College Music Auditions

Emma Carter
Nov 4, 2018
8 min read

Now, I will begin this post by admitting that I am not the best source to be turning to for this topic. I also know that I didn't know who to go to with my audition questions, so here's my spill of music audition info. I hope to update this post in the future so that it will be more helpful.

I. Preparing for Auditions

First off, decide what schools you want to audition at. I recommend auditioning at multiple schools so you can get a feel for how auditioning works, and you will be able to see who will give you the best scholarship. Audition requirements are found on each school's music department website. Be sure to check there for details as to what your audition requirements are at each school, and choose music accordingly. Some school's have stricter requirements than others, so be sure to cater to those schools.

When to Start

The biggest advice that I can give when it comes to auditioning is that you can never start learning your music early enough. I was really busy with marching band in the fall of my senior year, so I didn't start learning audition music until November. That's about two months before auditions. I wish I had more time to work on my music and perfect it. Pick our your music and start learning it early so that you'll have enough time to fine tune things before you audition.

Private Lessons

I had never taken private lessons on flute until I realized that college auditions were coming up and I wanted some more help with my music. I am so glad I found a teacher and have been able to work with her for the past 8 months or so. She was able to help me choose the right pieces to audition on, taught me how the different minor scales work, and helped me with fine tuning details on my pieces that I wouldn't have known about because of my lack of formal training. If you are able to take lessons long before you audition for music programs, that would be recommended! I regret not taking private lessons throughout high school.

Choosing Solo Music

There are a few guidelines to follow when choosing audition pieces. You should choose a lyrical piece and a technical piece. This will show you range of skills. Also be sure to choose music from different time periods (baroque, classical, romantic, etc). Make sure you choose music that you enjoy, and are willing to learn to the end! Choosing a song you only like instead of love will result in you getting burnt out sooner. Check to make sure your pieces fit the audition requirements at each school before you spend a lot of time learning your pieces as well.

Scales to Prepare

This can be a tricky topic because some schools have different requirements compared to others. Make sure you have all of you major and minor scales memorized. I memorized my melodic minor scales before auditions, but I don't think it matters which type of minors scales you play at the auditions. I will talk more about scales and auditions later in the post.

Signing up for an Audition Time

Signing up for an audition time is usually done on the schools website or through an email they will send you. I was able to pick specific times at a couple schools, but other schools just asked me to pick an audition day, and they assigned me a time slot. Look at the college's website for information about signing up for auditions. When signing up for an audition time, if that option is available to you, make sure you factor in how much time the entire audition process will take. I generally found that my auditions took up about half of my Saturday, but schools that are farther away from you could take longer. Things to factor into your audition timeline include:

The time it will take to drive to the college, find parking for your car, pay for parking, and walk to the building. (Look into parking options for the school before you drive there so you have an idea of where to go.)
The time you'll need to find a warm up room and actually warm up before the audition.
The time your audition will take.
The time your theory placement test will take afterwards. (Not all schools have theory placement tests, but a lot of them do.) Don't worry, I'll talk more on theory placement tests in the next section

I would try to avoid auditioning at two schools on the same day if possible. I had two auditions on the same day, and it was crazy! I barely had enough time to audition at the first school, pack up my instrument, find my car, drive to the second school, and warm up before my second audition started! I then had to find another day to go back to the first school and take the theory placement test there. If you can avoid auditioning at multiple schools on the same day please do so to save your sanity!

Practice Auditioning

I wish I would've done this to help with my nerves. Practice playing your scales and pieces in front of family, neighbors, friends, etc. so you'll get practice at playing them before you go out and audition. Also talk to your private instructor about other things you could do to get over the nerves of performing.

II. What to Expect During the Auditions

This is probably the scariest part of auditioning at schools for the first time. I didn't know what to expect, and hadn't had much solo performing before the audition. One thing I found different among the three schools is the panel you audition for. At one school I auditioned in front of the woodwind director and two other school of music representatives in the large ensemble room. Another school had me audition in front of all the woodwind staff in a big theater (which was pretty terrifying!). The last school just had me audition in a classroom in front of the woodwind director. Each audition differs depending on the school, but I will share a few things I found common among all three schools that I auditioned at and the basic order things will be played in.

Audition Formatting

Each school does this in about the same way, so when you practice auditioning for schools, you can plan on following this format.

Scales. I found from the three auditions that I did, that they will generally ask you to play a full range chromatic scale, a major scale, and a minor scale. Sometimes I was asked to pick a scale and other times they picked one for me. Have an idea of what major and minor scales you would play if you are given the option to choose. Playing a major scale, and then it's relative minor is always a good choice because the key signature is the same. It's easier to remember how the scale goes when you are nervous, and it shows your knowledge of major and minor scales.
Your Pieces. I would start with the piece you feel less confident on first. Play through it, or an excerpt of it and then play your second piece. Make sure you have an extra copy of your music to give to your audition panel so they can follow along and mark it as you play your pieces.
Questions. After my performances, I was asked a few questions that differed depending on the school. They asked me questions about what I wanted to major in, if I plan on taking a leave of absence, and if I was interested in participating marching band or not.

Theory Placement Tests

These tests really only take about 15 minutes. You will go to a computer lab where they'll help you sign in and open up the exam. The material on the exam covers the material learned in the music theory 1 class. If you don't quite meet the benchmark they tell you to, you will put in a music fundamentals class to talk about the basics again. If you pass it (often they ask for a score of 75% or higher) then you can assume you'll be placed in a music theory 1 class. They tests cover the following:

Major and all three types minor key signatures; identifying them as written by the clef, and identifying them by looking at a short musical passage
Time signatures; identifying the time signature in a rhythmic passage without one
Intervals; Writing major, minor, augmented, and diminished intervals
Chords: Writing chords based off of their given roman numeral name. Ex. vii°⁷ in root position

One good resource I used to prepare for theory exams was actually found on the Utah Valley University (UVU) music website. They have a PDF of a sample theory test on their website that you can print off. I printed that off and did everything I could on it. Then I asked for some help with understanding the concepts I didn't know how to do. I then got back on the UVU music website and checked my answers with their answer key PDF. Click here to go to their website. From there, just scroll to the "Theory Placement" section and you can print a practice test from there.

III. College Music Program Prep

As you are preparing to enter a music program in school, there are a few things I would suggest doing before you decide what school to attend. Having a good knowledge of the staff and the way programs are run at each of your schools of interest, can make a big difference in what school you attend.

Honor Bands

Participating in a college honor band can be a really great experience for you to get to know other band members who may be attending that college in the next year. You will also have opportunities to meet the staff and private instructors that are over your instrument. By experiences how they teach and how the private instructors approach things, you will get a better idea as to whether that school feels right for you or not. There was one school that I considered going to, but after I got to know the band director, I found that it wasn't right for me. I didn't like the way he taught, so I took that school off of my list.

Scholarship Applications

After you have auditioned for music programs, make sure you get on their website and apply for a scholarship there. Some schools require a music portfolio showing your accomplishments and "training" in music. That can take some time, but usually isn't too bad. They sometimes ask for a letter of recommendation as well. Make sure you ask for those in advance. Overall, applying for scholarships can be a great way to know if going to a specific school will be a good option for you. Even if you aren't sure you want to go to a certain school, apply for a scholarship anyways, and see what they offer you.

Scholarship Offers

One thing you have to be careful about when you get a scholarship offer is to read the fine print. Like most scholarships, music scholarships often have a GPA requirement. Some of them have very specific requirements. I got a scholarship offer from a school that was willing to give me a good chunk of money to be in their music program. When I read more into detail though, I found that there was a 3 year stipulation, and I would be required to participate in marching band. I wasn't so sure that I would have time to stay on top of homework, work a part-time job and participate in marching band all at the same time. That was one thing that kept me from accepting the scholarship. Make sure you understand that scholarship requirements before you accept them.

I hope that this was a helpful blog post, if you have any more questions, please feel free to drop them in the comments below. Good luck with you college auditions, and remember that though this is a lot of work, it is worth it!