How to Find Unusual Instrumental Solos for Competitions

Competition programmes often reward a piece that sounds assured, personal and technically convincing. An unfamiliar work can reveal more of a soloist’s musicianship than a predictable encore favourite, provided the choice fits the brief and the performer can control every expressive risk.

Finding less familiar repertoire is easier when you move beyond a single search term. Treat composer names, playing styles, regional traditions and performance techniques as connected routes into the catalogue, then test promising candidates against Australian competition requirements.

Define what unusual should mean for you

Unusual repertoire can mean an uncommon instrument, an unexpected genre, a rare source work, or a familiar piece transformed through arrangement, extended technique or electronics. It need not be experimental. A short jazz étude for flute, a solo accordion miniature, or a contemporary work built from one repeated pulse can be distinctive while remaining playable.

A fresh choice only helps if it reveals something specific about your playing. Look for a clean tone, a strong sense of pulse, rhythmic personality and control of the score’s unusual colour. If the work mainly adds complexity without offering a memorable musical idea, a better-known audition piece may serve you more strongly.

Write a search brief before browsing: instrument, technical level, maximum duration, preferred genres and the character you want to project. Then divide candidates into risky, rewarding and dependable options. This prevents a rare find from consuming rehearsal weeks when the contest needs a reliable performance.

Search beyond the familiar syllabus

Begin with the instrument and level, then widen the vocabulary: “solo flute contemporary Australia”, “unaccompanied clarinet multiphonic”, or “solo trombone jazz étude”. Catalogue filters are useful, but composer and arrangement searches often work better. Record several promising titles before checking availability because imported scores can take weeks to arrive.

For guitarists, a fingerpicking pattern book can provide a practical bridge into folk-inspired solo writing. Borrow a rhythm, develop it into a melody, and confirm that the competition accepts original arrangements before entering.

Reverse-search from something you already enjoy. A melody you hear in a film, folk session, church concert or jazz recording can lead to its source, an arranger and then published solo versions. Ask teachers, university libraries, community ensembles and specialist forums about editions, since workshop materials sometimes exist before a commercial edition does.

Use Australian musical networks

Search AMEB syllabuses, teacher resource lists and state competition circulars to understand what local teachers expect, then look one step beyond them. Australian schools and private studios often share repertoire recommendations, so a teacher or accompanist can reveal obscure Australian arrangements that never surface in a general search.

Major-city programmes at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Queensland Conservatorium, Elder Conservatorium in Adelaide and WAAPA in Perth create useful cross-references. Their concerts, alumni posts and required-piece lists can point toward composers, arrangers and editions suitable for an audition setting.

The Australian Music Centre and its state branches are valuable for discovering works by Australian composers across concert bands, chamber groups, jazz and educational series. Their catalogues and publisher information can also identify sanctioned solo reductions, saving time and ensuring the competition receives a recognised edition.

Check the rules before learning every note

Before committing, obtain the competition’s current rulebook and check duration, unaccompanied status, permitted repertoire, original-work approvals, page-turn limits, prohibited amplification, and whether the piece must be memorised. Some Australian events publish a repertoire list months ahead; others leave the selection open, so an email confirmation is worth keeping.

Check that the score matches the exact instrument, transposition and octave. Ask the seller for stock, edition details, the Canadian-dollar price, and a landed estimate in Australian dollars including GST and international postage. Digital editions can solve a deadline, but a physical score remains useful for page turns and reliable rehearsal away from a screen.

Works drawing on Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander music require particular care. Use a reputable edition and follow the composer, publisher or relevant cultural organisation’s guidance, especially where permission or protocol applies. Avoid treating culturally restricted material as a novelty simply because it would make the programme stand out.

Rehearse for the adjudicator

A visual-beat metronome can make subdivisions easier to judge than sound alone, particularly when a contemporary solo shifts between counted grooves and free time. Use it to check pulse stability, then rehearse without it so the performance does not depend on the device.

Record a clean run from the first entry to the final release, including applause and any retakes if the rules specify them. Ask a teacher to watch as an adjudicator would: note where the pulse slips, whether the character changes abruptly, and whether the ending feels prepared rather than merely stopped.

Rehearse the difficult passage in isolation, but return to the whole piece regularly. A short competition piece can expose weak transitions and inconsistent tone more clearly than a long study. Confirm that the instrument, bow, reed, strings or electronic setup will behave reliably in the Australian venue before travel day.

Turn a shortlist into a reliable purchase

Opus II, based in Kitchener, Ontario, is a specialist retail music store with print music, books, CDs and accessories across piano, organ, guitar, brass, choir, strings, woodwinds, accordion, harp and other fields. Its experienced musicians and teachers can help distinguish an edition from a transcription and judge whether an unusual score is genuinely practical.

Because stock and edition questions can be intricate, send the title, composer, instrument, grade level and competition date by phone or email. The store can also assist with educator resources, ordering and advice, reducing the risk of buying a promising work that arrives incomplete, in the wrong arrangement or too late to practise.

Contact Opus II today with three candidate pieces and a clear brief, then build the rehearsal schedule around the strongest option. A carefully chosen audition solo should sound like the performer, meet every published rule and be ready for the room—not simply different from everyone else’s programme.