Read your audition packet for each school . Requirements may be different , depending on where you are applying . In terms of preparing your rep , two things matter more than anything playing in tune , and in time . There will be plenty of students coming into their audition looking to blow away the panel with speed and range . Conservatory practice rooms will give you plenty of time to learn those things . I promise you that some students will show up to the audition with something silly like Blue Bells . Don ' t be that guy . A panel will be much more impressed with Morceau prepared meticulously , than a show piece that is played at the very extent of your technical skill . Trust me when I say that those musicians will know technique , and speed isn ' t what they ' re looking for . They will be looking to hear how receptive you are to a piece , and how seriously you take your preparation . For example , in my senior year of high school , I took Blue Bells to state Solo and Ensemble contest and was deadset on taking it to college auditions Rick Stout , my private teacher at the time , talked me out of it , and played the Marcello Sonata in A minor , David ' s Concertino , and a little bit of Hindemith at my auditions . On your audition day , keep to yourself . Don ' t worry about what the other students are playing in the warmup room . By the time you make it to your audition , you can only play your very best , so don ' t worry about everyone else . Get in there and play as well as you can . Preparation and repetition will set up free . As a distance runner , I use this approach . I showed up to a marathon once undertrained , and I ' ll never do it again . If you work within your ability , you will perform your best , so try to ensure that you are capable of the task at hand before you attempt it . If you can run the race in training , you ' ll do just fine on race day . This also applies directly to trombone . I ' m getting a little longwinded . I ' ll finish this tomorrow .