3 Ideas for Teaching Dynamics in Music Class

Do your students know that music can become humorous, shocking, surprising or unpredictable all through the use of dynamics? Unfortunately, if you aren’t providing your music class with real-world examples and resources designed to support the learning process, teaching dynamics can feel like teaching a vocabulary lesson.

In this post, I’ll be sharing my three favorite resources for teaching dynamics in music class. Let’s begin!

Start Teaching Dynamics in Kindergarten

When it comes to dynamics, it’s important to start teaching this lesson as early as possible. Add more examples and terminology as students become older. As you might guess, for kindergarteners, I like to keep it simple:

Fast or Slow
High or Low
Long or Short

Similarly, when I introduce dynamics in music, I start by building music dynamics awareness through teaching loud or soft. Once the students are aurally differentiating between loud and soft, you can add music terminology, “forte or piano”.

I love to use simple singing games like Grizzly Bear, or Closet Key to get students started. I also like to incorporate movement activities, instrument playing activities, and listening excerpts so that the children are exposed to dynamics in different ways. Some of my favorite listening excerpts to use include:

By the way, any of these listening activities can be turned into a movement activity by assigning a movement to loud, and a different movement to soft. You can get quite creative with this by asking the students for their ideas. One of my movement activities that students ask for over and over again is Edward Elgar’s Fairies and Giants, from the Wand of Youth Suites. During the activity, students choose to be a fairy, or a giant. When the student’s chosen part isn’t playing, they’re supposed to freeze like a statue! When it’s their turn, depending on their choice, they can either stomp around like a giant or flit around like a fairy. Kindergarten always has a lot of fun with this. Afterward, you can discuss the loud parts of the music (giants) and the soft part (fairies).

A Simple Exercise for Teaching Dynamics to Students

As elementary music students advance in grade level, you can gradually introduce more terminology. Teach the meaning of words such as piano, forte, mezzo piano, mezzo forte, crescendo, decrescendo, and others.

I have a really simple exercise I like to use with students when they’re learning about different dynamic levels.

In the exercise, I assign a number to each dynamic level.

1 = pianissimo
2 = piano
3 = mezzo piano
4 = mezzo forte
5 = forte
6 = fortissimo

The dynamics exercise is really simple. Basically you have the students slowly recite each number—one through six—with a different volume. 1 (pianissimo) starts off with a low, quiet voice only slightly above a whisper. By the time students reach 6 (fortissimo) they should be using their biggest outside voice! (Yes, they love this.)

You can practice going from soft to loud (1-6) and loud to soft (6-1) and use it to introduce crescendos and decrescendos. It’s also an easy exercise to transition onto classroom instruments and start building awareness of dynamics.

Another variation to consider is to assign vocal levels to each dynamics.

Pianissimo = Sleeping Baby Voice
Piano = Library Voice
Mezzo Piano = Classroom / Inside Voice
Mezzo Forte = Presentation / Teacher Voice
Forte = Stage Voice
Fortissimo = Outside / Field Day Voice

One highly effective activity you can try is printing and posting pictures of different settings that require different volumes. You can show pictures of different scenes such as:

Library
Stadium
Classroom
Cafeteria
Nursery
Movie Theater

Then, have the students sort and assign dynamic symbols that match each dynamic setting (example = library + a piano dynamic). It’s just one more great way to get your students thinking about dynamics.

Music Class Resources for Teaching Dynamics

Finally, if you’re still looking for interesting ways to teach dynamics in music class, I definitely recommend checking out the music education resources below! You’ll find magical, no-prep resources that make teaching and reviewing dynamics simple and fun!

Haydn Surprise Symphony Play-Along!

This is my absolute favorite resource for teaching dynamics! It’s also an amazing music lesson for practicing basic note values like quarter notes, quarter rests, eighth notes, and half notes. Students start the lesson by learning a little background about Haydn’s Symphony No. 94, The “Surprise” Symphony. Next, they’ll listen to the entire piece from start to finish, observing the surprises in real time.

After listening, you’ll introduce the rhythms (4 patterns total). After you review the dynamics and have students practice a little, you can pass out your favorite classroom percussion instruments and jam! It’s an engaging and effective lesson for applying knowledge of dynamics.

Recommended Grade Levels: 2-5
Materials & Equipment: Classroom Percussion Instruments

Define Dynamics Boom Cards

If you love using Boom Cards, this is an easy game you can play to review the definition of each dynamic. During 1:1 play, students will see the dynamic symbol displayed and need to choose the corresponding definition. It’s a quick and easy way to check in and ensure your students understand the meaning of each dynamic symbol.

Recommended Grade Levels: 1-4
Materials & Equipment: 1:1 Devices or Choose Group Play on SMARTBoard
New to Using Boom Cards? Read the Guide Here

Hearing Dynamics Boom Cards

So your music class knows how to define dynamics, but can they aurally recognize them? That’s where this awesome Boom Cards deck comes in! In this game, students will aurally identify the correct dynamic of 18 different Classical music pieces. Since this is an aural skills game, I strongly suggest playing as a group and projecting this resource on the SmartBoard. Or have your students use ear buds to reduce noise. Dynamics reviewed in this deck include fortissimo, pianissimo, crescendo, and decrescendo.

Recommended Grade Levels: 2-5
Materials & Equipment: 1:1 Devices or Choose Group Play on SMARTBoard; Earbuds (recommended)
New to Using Boom Cards? Read the Guide Here

Wrapping It All Up!

Teaching dynamics in music class becomes easier when students can move, listen, and play as they learn. These activities and resources give students a chance to experience dynamics in music in ways that feel real and exciting. If you’re looking for even more ideas to support your teaching, don’t forget to join the Chamber of Freebies—it’s a growing library of music education resources designed to make planning easier and lessons more meaningful. You can sign up below to get instant access.

*A Quick Note: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you choose to make a purchase. I only recommend things I truly believe in and have found helpful in my own teaching. You can read more in my disclosure statement.