Pretty quickly in your music study, you will learn terms for dynamics. Piano is soft. Forte is loud. Then you get to mezzo piano and mezzo forte which are somewhere in between. Then there's pianissimo and fortissimo, which make you softer than soft or louder than loud. But how do you know if you are getting it right?
First, there is no specific volume or decibel level that a dynamic marking represents. Each dynamic marking represents a range of volumes. You have louder and softer inside of forte, but your softest forte is louder than mezzo forte. It's all on a spectrum or continuum.
Also, the dynamics are in relation to eachother. If your piece has a piano section and a forte section. Forte has to be louder than piano and piano softer than forte, but where within the range of each you go is subject to interpretation. And not every note you play in each should be the same volume as the rest. You can use the range of dynamics to shape your phrases add expression and musicality to your piece.
Finally, different instruments work in different ranges. For example, the piano in my studio does not do piano very well. To compensate, we play forte louder than we normally would to get the contrast between piano and forte. on the other hand, the piano we use in recitals is more responsive to all dynamics and does piano quite well, thus allowing more nuance in the playing.
Basically, get to know your instrument, what it can and cannot do. Then make sure you are intentional about the contrasts in dynamics. Don't get too stuck on worrying about a specific volume but emphasis the difference between them.
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