Soft Dance, Loud Dance

Children dance freely to the hand drum: when it plays softly, they move only small parts like fingers or nose; when it plays loudly, they dance with their whole body. Children practice linking the volume of sound to the size of their movements.

How to play

1. Sitting down, the teacher plays very softly and everyone wiggles only their fingers; then loudly, and everyone moves arms and head together (2 min).
2. Standing in place: soft sound, dance with shoulders, fingers, or tummy; loud sound, jumps, arms, and legs (2 min).
3. Now around the room: soft means tiptoe with tiny movements; loud means big dancing without bumping (3 min).
4. The drum gets louder little by little and the dance grows with it; then it gets softer and the dance shrinks (3 min).
5. Final silence: keep the smallest movement possible, just a blink (2 min).

Rules

• Soft sound, tiny movement.
• Loud sound, big movement, but don't touch anyone.
• When the drum stops, freeze.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: dance sitting down or in the wheelchair, using face, hands, and arms.
• Hearing impairment: match the volume with the size of the teacher's drumming gesture.
• Autism or noise sensitivity: keep the loud part from getting too sharp and allow headphones if the child uses them.

Learning goals

• Connect sound volume with movement size.
• Control both big and small movements.
• Express themselves freely through movement.

Equipment for a class of 25

• pandero

Teacher tip

The hard part isn't loud, it's soft: make a big deal of tiny movements. If loud turns into running, remind them it's big dancing in place, not racing.

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