Making the Most of a Translator's Services

In today's global marketplace, appealing to an international audience may be not just an advantage but a necessity for your business or web site. Speaking to your customers in their language gives them reassurance that you will cater to their needs. Speaking to them in clear, well-written language leaves them with a positive impression of your business that may clinch the sale.

Unless you have the resources to employ full time multilingual copywriters, chances are that you'll be appealing to the services of a professional translator. Translators are sometimes viewed with an air of suspicion, and as a translator and language specialist myself, I can empathise with this to some extent. It's the same problem that arises when you call a plumber or electrician: you need their services, but you may not fully understand or have the means to judge their work. You've possibly had a bad experience in the past, such as a translation being delivered late, or turning out to have mistakes in it. So in this article I hope to give some hints from "my side of the fence" on how you can alleviate these problems, understand what you can expect from a translation service and ultimately make that service work for you. I'll focus specifically here on some aspects of budget and organisation, though I'll mention the editorial process briefly.

Attitude

A key underlying point to getting the most out of translation is actually the attitude you have towards it. Remember that a good translator is on your side and will be continually trying to make their translation achieve your purposes: be that making your publicity material sound more convincing in order to get more sales, or making the text of your internal documents as explanatory as possible so that your collaborators understand them quickly. Either way, a good translation can make or save you money in the long run. So you should view the translation work as a valuable part of your business strategy, not simply a boring, administrative task to be done as cheaply as possible at the last minute. It's really a false economy to shave 50 Euros off the cost of a translation only for this to result in a lesser quality job that gets you fewer sales over the course of a whole year. Similarly, asking for an "urgent" translation to be rushed may not actually save you any time overall if your colleagues then need twice as long to digest the document because it's less clearly written.

Being clear from the outset

So, the next point is that you need to be clear about your time and money budget. As a rough guide, you should ideally allow one day for every 2,000 words of text that need translating, and in any case a minimum of two days to allow the translator proper time to do any necessary research and consultancy. Depending on your needs and the speciality of the text, you should budget for around 50 to 80 Euros per 1,000 words of source text at the very least, and for more to accommodate any special requirements or additional proofreading. (Unusual language pairs will also usually involve extra cost.) This may sound a little expensive and time-consuming, but as I mentioned, the investment will generally pay for itself in the long run.

If you state no preference, a translator will generally propose a timescale that they are confident that they can meet. If you need the translation sooner or one of your documents is of higher priority than the others, state this from the beginning. Changing the timescale part way through the project is generally not a good idea, because the translator may have agreed, for example, to get feedback from consultants and work back from collaborators at a particular time, and re-scheduling this process may then involve cutting corners.

Working with budget constraints

If you really need to budget for less money or time than would be recommended by default, then be up front about it with the translator from the outset and make sure that the translator is up front about what corners are being cut to achieve your budget. Translators such as myself who work in tandem with other collaborators can often work around a lower budget or tight time constraints. For example, part of the work can be outsourced to a student translator who will charge less money (but where the work will still then be subject to some minimal checking by a more experienced translator), or portions allocated to multiple translators to get the job done more quickly. Or it may be that the translator or one of their collaborators has recently worked on a similar document which they can use as a basis for completing your job more quickly. But in any case, they should be transparent about this and you should understand the implications. If a translator agrees to a suspiciously cheap price or short timescale without explaining how they're able to achieve it, alarm bells should be ringing.

Ask the translator if they can offer any other options for cutting the budget. For example, they may offer a discount in exchange for a link to their web site. An option I offer with my own translation service is a discount in exchange for sentences from the resulting translation being included in a public on-line database of example translations. (An interesting side effect is that this provides an additional guarantee of quality: why would I want to fill my database with bad translations?)

Note that professional translators will generally NOT agree to cost-cutting by not including names or repetitions. This is a cowboy practice which in particular some agencies try to demand and which can compromise the quality of the translation. Any translator that agrees to this practice is being unprofessional, and you should ask yourself what other unprofessional practices they'll also be using behind your back to complete your translation.

The editorial process

I'll briefly mention some editorial matters, which in reality would merit a separate article. Just because a text has been translated does not necessarily mean you can bypass the editorial processes that you applied to the original text. Make sure your original text is clearly written, and provide the translator with any additional illustrations and notes that will help them understand the text. If the translation is for an important publication and you don't have your own editors in the target language, negotiate extra proofreading with the translator or with another professional editor; don't assume proofreading or editing is included in the price unless you've specifically requested it. On the other hand, for less formal publications such as a web site, if you had no editorial process as such for the original, you may not need an extra editing step for the translation: the key thing is to treat your original "raw" copy and the "raw" translation like for like.

If you're concerned about the quality of a translator's work, then one strategy is to contract-- and pay for-- translation of a small portion of the text (say, 500-1000 words) and have the result independently proofread. You can also ask for a small sample of previous work and ask an independent proofreader to look at that sample. (In general, a good translator will be able to pick a 300 word sample that shows off their work; you should be able to put together several such samples from different translators and have the whole lot proofread reasonably cheaply.) This means that you may need to invest a little bit of time in recruiting the best translator, but if the quality of your translation is so vital, then the initial outlay will be worth it. You can also simply ask the translator about your concerns!-- a good translator should be able to allay your fears. Paradoxically, it is NOT generally a good idea to recruit a translator by demanding that they carry out a FREE "sample" job, especially if the sample is more than about 100 words. Doing so is considered a highly unprofessional practice, and you'll automatically rule out the best translators because they'll simply refuse to do work for free. You'll also give your company a "cowboy" reputation among the translation community, making it more difficult for you to recruit good translators in the future.

If you contract proofreading separately, try to make sure the proofreader's judgement is (a) professional and (b) impartial. It is normal, and not necessarily the sign of a bad translation, for a proofreader to make a number of improvements to a translation-- after all, they're an extra "brain" on the job and it's partly what you're paying them for. If you're concerned about the number or nature of suggestions made, then a decent proofreader will be honest about which are purely preferences and suggestions and which are out-and-out corrections, and a good translator will give you their honest opinion on which of the proofreader's suggestions they think are genuine improvements to their original translation. The key is to relay your concerns to both parties.

Conclusion

I hope I've given an overview of some of the expectations you can have of the translation process and how, with the right attitude, you can make it work for you. A good translator will be working with you to achieve your goals. If you properly build the translation process into the timescale and budget of your project and take the time to clearly set out your needs, then quality translation is an investment that will likely pay off in the long run.

As a language specialist, I run various language learning web sites as well as a translation service, specialising in high-quality human translations between French, Spanish and English.

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Back to Basics - Translation Definitions

Information about you or your business needs to be translated accurately and flawlessly, since it will determine the image you project. Mistranslation can pose a serious risk to your company's reputation and have an adverse effect on your business.

Recent advances in globalisation mean that the need for prompt access to accurate information is no longer only reserved for big, multinational organisations. An ever growing number of companies compete for business on an international scale. An incorrect expression, wrong number or a seemingly harmless misplaced comma can expose your business to unacceptable risk. That is why, when selecting your translation company, you should check that your chosen provider has substantial knowledge and experience in servicing the finance, accounting and banking industry.

And of course, the more detailed your understanding of the translation process, the better the final product. With this in mind, we have put together a selection of definitions and commonly used terms, which will arm you with knowledge that can help you when selecting your translation company.

What is translation?

Translation is the transfer of one written language into another written language without changing the meaning, register or nuances of the source language and without additions or omissions.

What is sight translation?

It's an interpreting technique used to orally render material written in one language into another language. A specialised skill, sight translation is most often used when the gist of a letter or document needs to be determined with urgency.

What is source text?

Source text is the text that is to be translated.

What is source language?

The source language is the language from which the source text is to be translated.

What is target text?

Target text is the text of the translated document.

What is target language?

The target language is the language into which the source text is to be translated.

What is a certified translation?

A certified translation is a translation that has been reviewed by a certified NAATI translator and deemed to be a true and correct reflection of the source text.

What is accreditation?

In Australia accreditation is a credential awarded by NAATI to people who have demonstrated a certain level of ability to interpret or translate, and an understanding of socio-cultural and ethical issues. There are three levels of accreditation: "Professional" and "Paraprofessional", which are both awarded by either exam or course completion, and "Recognition", which is awarded as an interim measurement of rare or emerging languages for which no exams have been set.

What is back translation?

Back Translation is the process of translation back from the target language into the source language by a second translator. Back translation doesn't always ensure accuracy as the second translator won't pick up errors such as incorrect numbers and may in fact introduce errors into the text. Every language allows flexibility of word choice, and this choice can only be deemed accurate through an understanding of the original text.

What is a comprehension check?

This is a test done to ensure speakers understand the meaning of a translation.

What is checking?

This is the stage of written translation where the draft is compared to the source language text and all information is confirmed as having been accurately reproduced.

What is extraneous information?

This is material included in a translation but not found explicitly in the source text. This information is deemed necessary to include by the translator in order to communicate the message of the source text. This can also be referred to as a translators note.

What is gisting?

Gisting is the process by which a rough or outline translation of a text is given to provide an insight into the subject and overall content of the source text.

What is idiomatic translation?

This is where the meaning of the original text is translated into forms which most accurately and naturally preserve the meaning of the original text.

What is interlinear translation?

Interlinear translation is a form of translation where each line of a source text has a line placed directly beneath it which gives a word by word literal translation into a target language.

What is literal translation?

Literal translation is a type of translation where the forms of the original text are retained as much as possible.

What is loan translation?

This is the process of borrowing the meaning parts of a source word and directly translating them to the target language, instead of using a native term from the target language.

What is localisation?

Localisation means to adapt a product to a specific locale, i.e. to the language, cultural norms, standards, laws and requirements of the target market.

What is machine translation (MT)?

Machine translation is; a) a translation produced by a computer program; b) use of a translation program to translate text without human input in the actual translation process.

What is native speaker competence?

This means that a person has oral and written command of a language equivalent to that of a person who learned the language as a child and has continued to use it as his/her language of habitual use, but who also has had some language training.

What is AUSIT?

AUSIT is the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators - A fully independent association which aims to promote the highest standards in the translating and interpreting business.

What is NAATI?

NAATI is the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters - an examination and accreditation body for interpreters and translators in Australia.

What is revising?

Revising is the process of reading a text to identify errors, inconsistencies, incorrect grammar and punctuation, poor or inappropriate style, and conformance with the source text.

What is word-for-word translation?

This is a form of literal translation which seeks to match the individual words of the original as closely as possible to individual words of the target language.

What is word count?

Word count measures of the size of a text based on the source or target language.

What are the advantages of having my documents translated professionally?

If your documents are to be lodged with a government authority, you will be required to have it translated by a professional translator who is NAATI accredited. However, even if your documents don't need to be certified, using a professional translator to translate your website, brochures, user manuals or legal contracts will have the advantage of being accurate, professionally researched and presented and being targeted to your readers' needs.

How long does it take to translate a document?

That depends on the language, volume of text, subject matter and the type of service required.

How much does it cost?

Again, this depends on the language, size of the document, complexity of the text and the type of service required.

What is localisation?

It's an adaptation of a product, software or text to a target market, language and culture.

What translation companies should I be wary of?

Spelling and grammatical errors on their website should be your first warning sign. Lack of response to your emails, regularly getting an answering machine when trying to contact their office and lack of explanation when asking about quality control could be another. Whilst you may not be able to tell how good the quality of the translation is, you should expect at least a basic level of customer service when dealing with a translation company.

Feel free to email me if you have any other questions!

Yours sincerely

Eva Hussain

Polaron Language Services (http://www.polaron.com.au)

With over 15 years experience in the language sector, Eva is a sought-after linguist, researcher, consultant and trainer. In addition to her native Polish, Eva speaks French, Russian, Turkish and Hindi. She's the owner of Polaron Language Services, http://www.polaron.com.au

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Language Translation - 5 Popular Misconceptions

Numerous languages are spoken and written in our planet and each of these further have many varieties or dialects. They add up to a truly mind-boggling number! Working as a language translator or establishing a language translation agency keeping all this in mind, can be a very challenging mission. Challenges would come in many forms, and one of them would be the misconceptions that translation buyers carry about the process of language translation. These beliefs can be a significant stumbling block in the progress of translators and translation agencies. It is important that everyone in the translation business should educate customers about the fallacy of prevailing myths. Some of the most popular and enduring myths are -

The superiority of native translators. The most enduring and widespread misconception and probably the most frustrating and damaging one. Many customers simply take it for granted that a native of a specific country would be the best translator for its language. But this is far from the truth. Being a native does not automatically bestow upon a person the ability to translate the language well. As an example, the entire population of China might be composed of native mandarin speakers, but how many of them would be qualified enough to carry out a linguistically correct translation? Native translators might have a good start, but quality in translation comes from disciplined practice and study.

The versatility of translators. This is another popular myth which refuses to die. A lot of language translation buyers believe that translators can work in all types of content that is written in the language of their expertise. The reality is that a good translator is generally a specialist in specific areas. Someone who can do an excellent translation of literary works cannot be expected to get quality results in the translation of scientific or business content. That's good because translation being a complex process, its helps that a translator works within well defined limits which helps them to remain updated. The corollary... beware of translators who claim to translate all kinds of content.

Translating from language A to language B is same as translating from language B to language A. Well, at the most, this statement can be partially true. There might be a few exceptional translators who would be able to do the above, but most translators can only give excellent results in their core language. For example, an English-German language translation expert, whose core language is German, cannot be expected to give quality results in German-English translations.

The best translators are usually associated with certified or professional organizations. The truth is that there are numerous excellent translators all over the world who might be working freelance, and not be associated with any certified or professional organizations. A better way of gauging a translator's efficiency is by checking out client testimonials, if they are provided.

Back Translation can help evaluate the accuracy of a language translation work. In other words, if you are not sure about the accuracy of the work done by your translator, then get the document translated into its source language by another translator. If the result is same as the original document, then your translation was spot on. This might seem logical but is actually completely erroneous. The reality is that since every language has a unique structure and vocabulary, a quality translation would never seem accurate when translated back to its source. However, a word for word translation which is actually bad translation would be perfectly rendered in back translation.

The above are just some of the most popular myths that plague the translation business. You can add your own insights and educate your customers for the betterment of everyone in the industry. Having worked in the field of translation for more than a decade, I have realized that online services offer the most satisfying alternatives. One online language translation service I recently found that offers a very innovative mix of benefits is - http://www.tomedes.com

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Translation - Significance and Scope

The in-depth study of Art of Translation demands more attention not because it paves way for global interaction and offers an excellent opportunity to undergo socio-cultural survey of various languages and their literatures but also gives an opportunity to establish some kind of relevance it has in the study and area of Literary Criticism. Translation Studies can very safely be included as an important genre in the domain of Literary Criticism since translation is an art prompting to peep into the diversified lingual, cultural and literary content of a source language and thus highlighting/appreciating the essence and niceties of the literature of that particular translated language. In the context of Indian Studies, keeping in view the multilingual and pluristic cultural nature of our country,translation has an important role to play. It is through translation that we can look into the rich heritage of India as one integrated unit and feel proud of our cultural legacy. The relevance of translation as multifaceted and a multidimensional activity and its international importance as a socio-cultural bridge between countries has grown over the years. In the present day circumstances when things are fast moving ahead globally,not only countries and societies need to interact with each other closely, but individuals too need to have contact with members of other communities/societies that are spread over different parts of the country/world. In order to cater to these needs translation has become an important activity that satisfies individual, societal and national needs.

It goes without saying that the significance and relevance of translation in our daily life is multidimensional and extensive. It is through translation we know about all the developments in communication and technology and keep abreast of the latest discoveries in the various fields of knowledge, and also have access through translation to the literature of several languages and to the different events happening in the world. India has had close links with ancient civilisations such as Greek, Egyptian and Chinese. This interactive relationship would have been impossible without the knowledge of the various languages spoken by the different communities and nations. This is how human beings realised the importance of translation long ago. Needless to mentiuon here that the relevance and importance of translation has increased greatly in today's fast changing world. Today with the growing zest for knowledge in human minds there is a great need of translation in the fields of education, science and technology, mass communication, trade and business, literature, religion, tourism, etc.

Defining Translation

Broadly speaking,translation turns a text of source language(SL) into a correct and understandable version of target language(TL)without losing the suggestion of the original. Many people think that being bilingual is all that is needed to be a translator. That is not true. Being bilingual is an important prerequisite,no doubt, but translation skills are built and developed on the basis of one's own long drawn-out communicative and writing experiences in both the languages. As a matter of fact translation is a process based on the theory of extracting the meaning of a text from its present form and reproduce that with different form of a second language.

Conventionally, it is suggested that translators should meet three requirements, namely: 1) Familiarity with the source language, 2) Familiarity with the target language, and 3) Familiarity with the subject matter to perform the job successfully. Based on this concept, the translator discovers the meaning behind the forms in the source language (SL) and does his best to reproduce the same meaning in the target language (TL) using the TL forms and structures to the best of his knowledge. Naturally and supposedly what changes is the form and the code and what should remain unchanged is the meaning and the message (Larson, 1984).Therefore, one may discern the most common definition of translation, i.e., the selection of the nearest equivalent for a language unit in the SL in a target language.

Computers are already being used to translate one language into another, but humans are still involved in the process either through pre-writing or post-editing. There is no way that a computer can ever be able to translate languages the way a human being could since language uses metaphor/imagery to convey a particular meaning. Translating is more than simply looking up a few words in a dictionary. A quality translation requires a thorough knowledge of both the source language and the target language.

Translation Theory, Practice and Process

Successful translation is indicative of how closely it lives up to the expectations as: reproducing exactly as for as possible the meaning of the source text,using natural forms of the receptor/target language in such a way as is appropriate to the kind of text being translated and expressing all aspects of the meaning closely and readily understandable to the intended audience/reader.Technically, translation is a process to abstract the meaning of a text from its current forms and reproduce that meaning in different forms of another language. Translation has now been recognised as an independent field of study. The translator can be said to be the focal element in the process of translation. The writer/author becomes the centre, for whatever he writes will be final, and no two translators translate a text in the same way. It is genegally believed that a writer to know the intricacies of the TL in which he may wish to translate. As a matter of fact, it is not the writer of the SL text who asks someone to translate his works into the TL; it is primarily the interest of the individual translator which prompts him to translate a work into his mother tongue. A successful translator is not a mechanical translator of a text but is creative as well. We may say that he is a co-creator of the TL text. . In fact, for a translator knowledge of two or more languages is essential. This involves not only a working knowledge of two different languages but also the knowledge of two linguistic systems as also their literature and culture.Such translators have been seen to possess various qualities which we shall briefly discuss later.

Linguiustically,translation consists of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure, communication situation, and cultural context of the source language and its text, analyzing it in order to determine its meaning, and then reconstructing the same meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure which are appropriate in the target language and its cultural context. The process of translation starts with the comprehension of the source text closely and after discovering the meaning of the text, translator re-expresses the meaning he has drawn out into the receptor/target language in such a way that there is minimal loss in the transformation of meaning into the translated language.This entire process could be graphed as under:-

Overview of the translation task

In practice, there is always considerable variation in the types of translations produced by various translators of a particular text. This is because translation is essentially an Art and not Science.So many factors including proficiency in language,cultural background, writing flair etc.determine the quality of translation and it is because of that no two translations seem to be alike if not averse.

Accommodation in Translation

Translation turns a communication in one language into a correct and understandable version of that communication in another language. Sometimes a translator has to take certain liberties with the original text in order to re-create the mood and style of the original.This,in other words is called 'accommodation.' This has three dimensions: cultural accommodation; collocation accommodation; ideological accommodation; and aesthetic accommodation.Accommodation is considered a synonym of adaptation which means changes are made so the target text produced is in line with the spirit of the original. Translation is not merely linguistic conversion or transformation between languages but it involves accommodation in scope of culture, politics, aesthetics, and many other factors. Accommodation is also translation, a free, rather than literal, kind of translation. Moreover, it is inevitable in practice if the translation is to maintain the source message's essence, impact, and effect. There is an interesting saying: A translation is like a woman: if it is faithful, it is not beautiful; if it is beautiful, it is not faithful. That is to say if you want to be faithful with the text while translating you are bound to lose the beauty of the translated text and if you try to maintain the beauty of the translated text you are sure to be unfaithful with the original text.. Faithfulness was once considered the iron rule in translation process but over the years when we take a closer look, accommodation, or adaptation, is found in most published translations and it has become a necessity too since keeping in view the averse cultural/lingual/geographical/historical/political diversifications and backgrounds of various languages and their literatures, accommodation,if not compromising, is almost obligatory. Accommodation, too, has to be carried out very sensibly, more especially when it comes to translating poetry or any such text which is highly immotive and artistic in nature.For example translating poetry has never been so simple. Robert Frost once said, "Poetry is what gets lost in translation." This is a sufficient evidence of the difficulty involved in translation of poetry. Because poetry is fundamentally valuable for its aesthetic value, therefore, aesthetic accommodation becomes an art instead of a basic requirement. A good poetry translator with a good measure of accommodation and adequate knowledge of aesthetic traditions of different cultures and languages, can be better appreciated by the target reader and can achieve the required effect.

Qualities of a good Translator

A good translator should have adequate knowledge of the SL(source language) from which he is translating into the TL which is generally his mother toungue/target language. In order to produce an accurate translation of the SL text he should have command over the grammatical, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic features of the SL. In addition to this it is necessary that he is well-conversant with the socio-cultural contexts of both the SL and the TL. A good translator should be the author's mouthpiece in a way that he knows and comprehends fully whatever the original author has said in his text. One of the generally accepted characteristics of a good translation is that it should resemble the original text or come as close to the SL text as possible. It should appear like the original in the TL translation within the usual social and cultural settings with some minor accommodation, if necessary,of course.

Usually it is also believed that the job of a translator is a mechanical one-a simple rendering of the SL text into a TL text. But it is not so. The translator has to perform a really difficult task. It is in a way more difficult and complicated than that of the original writer. A creative writer composes or pens down his thoughts without any outward compulsion. A translator has to confine himself not only to the SL text but a host of other factors also intervene in the process of translating the TL.

A good translator must have an adequate knowledge of the subject or area to which the SL text relates so that the translator is able to capture the spirit of the SL text. If he does not have an in-depth knowledge, he may not be able to produce an accurate translation suitable for its intended purpose. For example, if you want to translate the Bible or the Gita or any other religious text, you must have adequate knowledge of those religious and theological works.

A good translator should be careful of the choices that he makes in using the TL. He should translate in the style, which is appropriate for the target audience. The style should be such that it appears to be natural and spontaneous to the TK readers. The translation in the TL should not sound alien.

A translator does need certain tools to help him out in moments of difficulty. These tools can be in the form of good monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, encyclopedias, e-dictionaries, glossaries of technical and standard works, etc. pertaining to the SL text.

A good translator must have patience and should not be in a hurry to rush through while translating any text. He should not hesitate in discussing with others the problems that he may come across. Morever, he should not shy away from conducting micro-research in order to arrive at proper and apt equivalents.

In short, a good translator should be a competent and proficient bilingual, familiar with the subject/area of the SL text chosen for translation. He should never try to insert his own ideas or personal impressions in the TL text. His objective should be to convey the content and the intent of the SL text as exactly as possible into the TL text. The job of a translator is very rewarding and intellectually stimulating

Finally,a few words(based upon my close understanding about translation study and activity) for up-coming translators and translation-lovers.To translate from one language into another has never been an easy endeavour.It is an exercise both painstaking and cumbersome and only those who have engaged themselves with translation work can realize the complex character of this Art. I have been associated with translation work for over three decades translating from English, more especially, from Kashmiri/Urdu into Hindi and back.

1-A good translator ought to be a good writer.

2-You needn't translate everything that has been written, you need to translate the best only.

4-A good translator adjusts/accommodates and not compromises with the original text.

5-Translators are like ambassadors representing and exchanging the best of their literary world.

5-Art of translation is as old as makind, don't you translate your thought before you speak it out? Some more suggestions:

1-Try to get into the mind of the writer.

2-Check your translation twice or may be thrice before finalizing the script. Put the original passage "aside" and listen to/read your translation with your ear "tuned in", as if it were a passage originally written in the TL.

3-If your material is highly technical, with vocabulary that is distinctive to a discipline, it is important that the translator has at least some background or experience of that discipline. A good translator of poetry and drama may be a bad choice for a chemical engineering or biotechnology text.

4-If you have a native speaker of your target language handy, particularly one who is familiar with the subject, that person could be as useful as your teacher for final script-review. Take his assistance without fail.

A few more guide lines for the translators:

Do not try to find difficult equivalent words in the hope that this will add to the perfection of your translation.

Every language has its own punctuation rules and differ in many ways; take care to punctuate correctly.

Check your translation two or three times at the end.

2/537 Aravali Vihar,Alwar(Rajasthan)301001
skraina@sancharnet.in
skraina123@rediffmail.com
Formerly Fellow,IAS Shimla(India)

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Music Education Resources and Tips For Teachers

Music education has been included in many curricula in different nations around the globe. However, since not all students are musically-inclined, not all of them are motivated to learn music. As a result, they are no longer excited to experience formal music schooling inside their classrooms. With this conflict of interests, music teachers are then challenged or pressured on how they could make their students learn and love music at the same time.

To basically adhere to the problem, they are determined to research the latest music teachers' resources. Since both teaching and learning are two dynamic processes, music teachers and their students should meet half way - adjusting to the kind of individuals they are.

And because they are up to music education, these music teachers need to update their lists and records with the most modern trends and techniques, which are believed to be very effective and influential with the kind of students they have right now. From time to time, there could have been new music teachers' resources that could improve their teaching strategies as well as their way of relating to their dear students.

Today, music educators incorporate theories and application to give a well-rounded musical experience and to teach music in various perspectives intended for international understanding. To meet many demands and expectations of their students, music teachers keep on upgrading their available music teachers' resources by doing some researches over the Internet. In just a matter of few clicks, they would be aware of what is really the latest in the music academe as well as the newest style and approach in teaching that they can utilize in their everyday instruction.

The perceived effort to enhance music teachers' resources also results in a greater number of students, who are now more motivated and determined to learn and love music. When their music teachers use some personal touches as part of their resources - sharing their own insights, thoughts and experiences on a particular topic, the learners become more eager to attend to their music classes and listen to their classroom discussions. This happens simply because they feel that they have something to relate to and such experience could also happen to them in time.

Indeed, teaching and learning music can be both fun and enjoyable. Just like in real life and in our daily activities, when we integrate music into anything that we do, it amazingly turns out to be more special and a lot of fun. After all, music gives most of us such inspiration and motivation to look forward to something better and brighter. Love music and enjoy tomorrow.

This music education website [http://www.musicteachershelper.com/music-education] offers many useful music teachers resources and tips. Visit it now.

Earl Marsden started developing a passion for music at the early age of twelve. He first learned to play the guitar at thirteen, and from there he pursued the study other instruments including the violin, piano and flute. Currently, he devotes some of his spare time to writing articles about music teaching while managing his own music studio.

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The Popularity of Royalty-Free Music

A major part of our lives revolve around music - from the simple sound that we hear when we are put on hold during a phone conversation to the jingle that comes along with the TV advertisement that we are watching. Getting hold of the music for use in these instances, however, can be quite daunting as not all commercial music can be used without having to pay hefty fees.

The use of popular music, regardless of the genre, would usually require someone to acquire authority to use a copyrighted material or else he or she could face copyright infringement problems. Being authorized to use a copyrighted material usually means paying a lot of money for a one-time use of the said music. Additional use of the content would mean having to pay additional fees or "royalties".

Royalty Free Music is also referred to as stock music or library music. When one says "Royalty-Free Music", this usually means that, as soon as the licensee has purchased the content, he or she is free to use the licensed content forever without having to make any additional payment.  This does not, however, mean that the licensee owns the copyright to the content as these remains with the creator.  It should also not to be mistaken for free music. There is still some fees involved with royalty free music, although it tends to be lower than having to secure copyright of a certain commercial music content.

Inasmuch as copyright allows the producer, songwriter and singer to make a living out of the record that they have made, royalty-free music allows for consumers to make use of certain music and sound clips made by other people in a variety of ways. This could include background music for a slideshow movie presentation or a flash presentation, or as a hold music for a phone call. It could even be used on a grander scale such as background music for a commercial or as a part of a TV ad jingle. Some providers of royalty-free music, however, would require you to pay an additional fee if you would be using the music as part of a TV advertisement. 

Aside from offering a convenient way to using a music legally at an affordable price, Royalty-free music also makes it possible for consumers to cut down on time that they would have spent trying to look for the copyright holder of a certain music. It also makes it possible for consumers to just download the file and skip any administration job that otherwise they would have to go through should they opt to use a commercial music. 

In the past, royalty free music has been synonymous with sloppy sound and low production values. Nowadays, however, several companies who indulge in the provision of this type of content have taken upon themselves to ensure the quality of music. It is now even possible to get hold of royalty free music that could give commercial music a run for its money.

Find out more at www.beatdock.com

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3 Tips That Will Make Your Music Stand Out While Marketing Your Music Through Social Networks

Marketing music by means of social networking has become the number one way emerging artists communicate with potential fans. This is a good thing, actually a great thing! But it can also be bad, very bad. Music Marketing through social networking is good because it's cheap, easy, and in many cases your marketing message reaches far beyond what traditional music marketing has been able to accomplish in the past. It's bad because there are so many artists and groups who have adopted social networking as their only form of music marketing that it has become watered down and over saturated. Meaning, there are so many artists and groups using social networking to get their music in the hands of potential fans that it is hard to stand out and be heard.

Using social networking as a means of music marketing is about directly communicating with people and personally asking them to listen to your music. It is not about how many friends you can get on your myspace.com page in a day or how many "blind" twitter messages you can send out shouting for people to listen to your music. Social networking is exactly that, being social and networking among like minded individuals or groups. The following three tips will help you get the most out of music marketing through social networking.

Tip 1 - Social networking is about being social

The number one way you can stand out on a social networking site is to be social. You have to interact, leave comments, take time to learn about other people, and reach out and talk to people. Marketing music on social networks is about making friends. You will never make friends if all you are doing is sending friend requests and never visiting your "friends" until you want something from them. Think about social networking like the real world. You have to build friendships. You have to be interested, you have to contact friends from time to time and ask them how they are doing, and it has to be a give and take relationship. Meaning, you have to be willing to give your friends your time, effort, and devotion in order to get any of these things from them.

Tip 1 - Solution:

Do not send "blind" friend requests. Take the time to go on each profile page you visit and learn something about the person you are asking to become your friend. If, once you learn a little about them, you feel this is someone you would actually like to be friends with then send the friend request. When you send the request make it personal. Talk about something interesting you found on their profile. What you are trying to do is show them you took the time to learn about them before asking them for friendship. If you do this you will see a huge increase in CD sales and fans attending shows. Why? You are actually finding friends that have similar interests as you instead of trying to get anyone out there to agree to be your friend!

Once you become friends with someone cultivate the friendship over time. Make sure you comment on their page at least weekly, ask them to take a look at your page and give opinions, etc. Simply be a friend more than long enough to get them to add you as a friend!

Tip 2 - Be consistent with your branding message

Marketing music through social networking is about getting your name, music, and brand in as many social networks as you can possibly find. We all know of the three or four "big boys," MySpace.com, YouTube.com, and Facebook.com. But there are hundreds of other social networks that are used daily to market music. One of the biggest challenges an emerging artist faces when setting up his or her user profile is what to say, what pictures to use, and what is the best way to promote music within the social network. It is very easy to think, "I want to be creative and show all my different sides so I will make each of my social networking profiles different." This is a huge trap!

Do not confuse your potential fans with many different images, songs, and sales pitches to buy your music. You want one message, one song as a single, and one "brand" carried across all your social networking sites. Why? Momentum. Momentum builds naturally when one song or "brand" is being offered to the masses. Think of it this way - Let's say someone hears your song on one social networking site and tells a friend how cool the song is. Then that friend goes to their favorite social networking site and looks you or your band up. When they land on your profile and search for the song their friend told them about but can not find it, they are confused. They will automatically think, "Is this the right artist or group my friend was talking about? Do I need to search again?" This is not good. Momentum can only build from one person to the next if the same "brand" is present on all marketing outlets.

Consistency in branding will help you stand out within the over saturated social networks. When your potential fans keep seeing the same message over and over on different social networks they will remember it. This will drive them to investigate who, what, where, or why they keep seeing the same thing no matter where they are online. It will make them click on your profile and listen to your music.

Tip 2 - Solution:

Pick three songs from your CD and upload them to each social network you use for music marketing.

Pick three pictures and place them on the front page of your profile in each of your social networks. You can add as may pictures as you want to the pictures page of your profile, but make sure you use the same three pictures on the front page of each profile.

Create an eye catching ad that advertises that you have a CD for sell. Make sure you link the ad to the page where people can buy your CD. Do not simply link the ad to the home page of your website. You have to make it easy to buy your CD. If they click on the ad, land on your store page, and then want to learn more about you, they will click around. But it does not always work the opposite way.

Tip 3 - Make your profile page clean, uncluttered, and eye catching

If people can not see the trees for the forest they will move on. Meaning, if you have so much meaningless clutter all over your profile page that a potential fan can not find real information about you in less than five seconds you have already lost them. The worst thing you can do is have a video player automatically play at the same time your mp3 player automatically starts playing your music. Do not make people search for what is playing in order to stop all the noise!

Tip 3 - Solution:

Create a front profile page that has pictures, music, video, and bio clearly visible towards the top of the page. If you want to be an individual, by all means do so, but move any non press kit material towards the bottom of the page. Remember, you only have five seconds to grab their attention!

Never have your videos auto play. Let your music speak for you. Create an mp3 player that auto starts as soon as a potential fan lands on your profile. This way they can have a look around the profile while listening to your music instead of hunting your page to find out what all is playing! When they find the video, and if they want to watch it, they will stop the music and hit play on the video.

Backgrounds that are too busy make it extremely hard to read text on a page. Try to find a background that fits your style but is based around solid colors or graphics that stay out of the way of the body of your profile page. Potential fans will not try to read through graphics to learn about you. They will move on to the next artist or group that offers them a better experience.

Conclusion:

The easiest way to stand out in social networks is to be social, offer a clean profile that is easy to read, and create a brand that is consistent throughout all social networks. Music marketing today is much different than it was years ago. You have to give interest to get interest. You have to treat online friends as you would treat your offline friends. And you have to make sure you are always pushing the same message to all your friends so each of them will be able to tell another to look you up and let momentum take over!

Please visit my website for more FREE Music Marketing Tips!

Jai Hutcherson
"Love the Music in Yourself, Not Yourself in the Music!"

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