<p>I would not worry about the lack of competition experience as long as your daughter has performance experience. As others have mentioned, many teachers do not believe that competitions are healthy for musicians and especially for young developing musicians. The audition is just a performance for a relatively small and very discerning audience. Students who view their auditions as an opportunity to share their music with others are apt to do better than those who view the audition as a competition.</p>
<p>Performance experience can come in a variety of ways: playing for the relatives; small house recitals for friends and other invited guests; playing in nursing homes or at church; year-end teacher studio recitals; school variety nights. Sometimes you need to create a couple of these opportunities if you find there are not enough; however, many students are run off their feet with so many performances, that they try to shed them rather than accumulate them.</p>
<p>If you are concerned about your daughter having limited performance experience prior to her auditions, then be certain to schedule one or more recitals of the audition repertoire. You could do these in your living room and squeeze in as many people as possible, or in a local church that will give you a free or cheap rental. Ask your daughter’s teacher if he/she could schedule a studio class/recital prior to auditions; such a class, usually involves a handful of other students and the teacher: if your daughter is the most advanced student in the studio, then it would be great for the other students to hear her.</p>
<p>Also, you could schedule a couple of sample lessons. Usually these are done primarily to find out if a teacher is a good fit. Another benefit of them is that they give the student an informal type of trial audition or at least more experience playing for good ears.</p>
<p>Be certain to read some of the threads about working with more than one teacher: it can be tricky and has its pros and cons.</p>