Translation of tuition compendia into English
– Thoroughness, just the right solutions, and a great product
Client: The Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg
Time: 2020
Service: translation from Danish into English
In early 2020, I translated two tuition compendia from Danish into English for the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg. The topics of the compendia were Instrument Knowledge (the history, design, and uses of classical orchestra instruments) and Music Theory (from the relationship between frequencies and tones to scales, chords, and functional harmonic analysis), and the target audience was Academy students.
The greatest challenge was to find the correct translations of Danish music expressions; not always an easy task since, for example, functional harmonic analysis following the German/Nordic model is not very common in English-speaking countries. Based on my elementary knowledge of music theory and through studies of English-language web sites on the subject and a constructive dialogue with the client, however, I managed to find solutions in each case.
Prior to delivery of the compendium on Music Theory, I edited the layout of the text to ensure that the names of chords and functions (such as D45) were shown correctly.
– Rasmus Gissel's work on our compendia was characterised by formidable thoroughness and a great, professional fervour to find just the right solutions to the challenges posed by these texts, says Niels Bastrup Jørgensen, Teaching Lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg. – Rasmus was incredibly pleasant to work with, and he delivered a great product.
