All of us used sound as our very first means of communication. Whether hungry, tired, dirty, cold, or bored, we cried out loud for a cure. This ability of sound to generate attention is never forgotten. Toddlers and kids increase the repertoire; adding screaming, whining, shouting, interrupting, and pestering as more advanced means of manipulating adults. And they’re very effective. Early on, we learn that if a particular method doesn’t meet our needs, try it again…louder. Soft whimpering won’t guarantee food, but ear-splitting screams will. It may take a while for parents to decipher the milk order, but if the screaming continues, eventually it will come. Older kids, bored of shopping, learn shouting loudly will possibly get them out of the store sooner rather than later. Volume is power.

Helping kids regulate loudness is an important first step in playing with purpose and it’s not just because it renders subsequent music bearable for anyone within earshot!  This activity explores the range of an instrument’s volume.  Like Remote Control, there are two roles: one developing self-discipline and attention and the other creativity and assertiveness.  If your child has played music with me before, you’ll certainly recognize aspects of what follows; it’s a great starting point. Be warned! The ideas should test the limits of volume, so it might get loud…

• Choose a stick, wooden spoon, magic wand, or any other suitable item to act as a conductor’s baton.
• When your child has an instrument, point the baton down, nearly touching the floor. Explain how this means ‘play as quietly as possible’. Reinforce this idea by whispering and making your body small. (Remember, what is played – a repeated note, random notes, two notes alternating – is less important than how it is played – in this case how loudly. I’ll further discuss what soon). It may take some patience and shushing, but don’t move on until all is quiet.
• Point the baton high in the air and shout instructions to play as loudly as possible. Regardless of how loud it actually is, encourage more volume; indulge urges to play ultra-loud before trying to tame them.  Some children might be reluctant to play loudly and they would probably benefit from being with other ‘noisier’ children.
• After a period of high volume, point the stick down again and, if needed, repeat the instructions.
• Point the baton back up, and so on.
• Once it can be followed by sight alone, hand over the baton and let your child be the conductor.

Having defined minimum and maximum volumes, the task now is to bring playing into a more manageable, musical range.

• Point the baton straight out in front of you and ask your child’s interpretation. If they can’t verbalize it, ask if they can play it. If not, explain how it is medium or middle or ‘not-too-loud, not too-quiet’, etc.
• As you conduct through the three volume levels, whisper ‘quiet’, say ‘medium’, and shout ‘loud’.
• Switch roles.

The last step introduces what musicians call crescendo and decrescendo:

• Hold the baton low and slowly sweep it upwards, encouraging your child to get ‘louder..louder…LOUDER’. Bold and graceful movements are easier to follow than jerky and indecisive ones.
• Start to sweep down again, ‘QUIETER…quieter…quieter’.
• Suggest being on an imaginary ship, far out at sea. Depict the scene as vividly as possible with seagulls, pirates, dolphins, islands, etc…
• Say a storm is coming and you’re going to make the music of the waves as the ship rocks back and forth.
• Move the baton up and down creating waves of sound, small at first, but getting bigger and bigger as you describe the storm intensifying.
• Say, ‘Keep going!’, then stop talking and control the volume waves with just the baton.
• If you and your child become out-of-sync, hold the baton low and still. When you’re both together again, start over – ‘look out! Another storm!’
• Alternate being conductor until one of you has had enough.

With a simple variation, these volume waves can be used to develop a fundamental musical skill: listening. Play volume waves on an instrument and use them to lead your child, rather than the baton. You may need to revert to talking through the changes until the volume can be followed by ears alone.

These activities work really well with a group of kids playing together, taking turns as conductor. Having a unique, designated baton is now vital; it’s a coveted position and sometimes more than one child will try to conduct. The result can be a cacophony, but one which ebbs and flows in waves that pull everyone along in their wake.