The audition is on Saturday. At Thursday's lesson, you can still hear a rough shift, an uneven run, and a phrase that could use more shape. There's enough material for several weeks of teaching. You have one lesson.

Ask what would help the student walk into the room better prepared. Some corrections can wait until after the audition.

Hear the audition they expect to play

Check the actual requirements first. Is the music played in a set order? Are scales called out? Is sight-reading included? Use the organizer's current instructions rather than an old handout or someone's memory.

Run the required material under similar conditions where practical. Let the student set up, choose the opening tempo, and begin without your usual prompts. Explain beforehand that you'll listen through and discuss it afterward.

Make a few notes while they play. Which problems repeated? Which were isolated slips? Don't let one missed note consume the rest of the appointment.

Pick a change they can use now

A clearer starting tempo or a planned breath may be useful immediately. An entirely new fingering system may need more time than you have.

Try the change on a short passage, then hear it in context. Ask the student whether they can repeat it without a reminder. If it makes the passage less reliable and there's no urgent reason to keep it, save the experiment for later.

Choose one or two priorities for the remaining practice and write them down. Avoid sending the student home with a fresh list of everything that could eventually be better.

Rehearse the awkward bits between the music

Practice getting the first note ready after a wait. For an audition with several excerpts, try moving between them. Let the student decide where to take a moment and reset.

Talk about what to do after a slip. Try a deliberate restart in practice, or rehearse continuing to the next familiar place. Follow the audition's instructions about whether stopping and restarting is permitted.

Leave a little time for practical questions: music, instrument supplies, arrival instructions, and who will help with transport. Ask the student to check the details they don't know.

Finish with a clear practice plan and a stopping point for the day before. After the audition, you'll have time to return to that shift and the longer-term work.