Kan du ändra volymen före refrängen?

Yes. Kan du literally means can you, and in Swedish it is a very common way to make a polite request.

So Kan du ändra volymen före refrängen? is literally Can you change the volume before the chorus?, but in natural use it often functions like Could you change the volume before the chorus?

It is polite but still fairly direct and natural. If you want to sound even softer, Swedish can also use:

• Kan du vara snäll och ändra volymen före refrängen? = Can you please change the volume before the chorus?
• Skulle du kunna ändra volymen före refrängen? = Could you change the volume before the chorus?

Because this is a question, and Swedish usually puts the verb first in yes/no questions.

Compare:

• Du kan ändra volymen. = You can change the volume.
• Kan du ändra volymen? = Can you change the volume?

So the inversion of kan and du is normal Swedish question word order.

Ändra means change or alter.

In this sentence, it means changing the volume level in some way, without saying exactly whether you should raise it or lower it.

That makes it a good general verb here:

• ändra volymen = change the volume

If you want to be more specific, you could say:

• höja volymen = raise the volume
• sänka volymen = lower the volume

So ändra is broad and neutral, while höja and sänka are more precise.

Because volymen is the definite form of volym.

• en volym = a volume
• volymen = the volume

In Swedish, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun:

• en låt = a song
• låten = the song

So ändra volymen means change the volume, not just change volume in a general sense.

Före means before.

In many cases, före and innan can both translate as before, but they are not always used in exactly the same way.

In this sentence:

• före refrängen = before the chorus

Here före works well because it comes directly before a noun phrase: refrängen.

Very often:

• före + noun is common
• innan + clause is very common

For example:

• före refrängen = before the chorus
• innan refrängen börjar = before the chorus starts

You may also hear innan refrängen, which many speakers use naturally too, but före refrängen is especially straightforward here.

Refrängen means the chorus or the refrain in a song.

The base word is:

• en refräng = a chorus / a refrain

Definite form:

• refrängen = the chorus

So:

• före refrängen = before the chorus

This is a common music-related word in Swedish.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker:

• Kan du ≈ kahn doo
• ändra ≈ EN-dra
  The ä sounds somewhat like the e in bed, though Swedish vowel quality is not exactly the same as English.
• volymen ≈ voh-LYY-men
• före ≈ FUR-eh
  The ö sound does not exist exactly in English; it is somewhat similar to the vowel in British bird, but rounded.
• refrängen ≈ reh-FRENG-en
  Here too, ä is somewhat like the e in bed.

A few extra notes:

• Swedish stress in volymen is on the second syllable: vo-LYM-en
• Swedish r sounds are usually more clearly pronounced than in many kinds of English
• The g in refrängen is pronounced here, not silent

Because Swedish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• volymen = the volume
• refrängen = the chorus

This is one of the most important differences between Swedish and English nouns.

English:

• the volume
• the chorus

Swedish:

• volym-en
• refräng-en

The ending -en is very common for common-gender nouns.

By itself, före refrängen usually just means before the chorus in a general sense. It tells you the change should happen earlier than the chorus, but it does not specify exactly how long before.

If you wanted to be more precise, Swedish could say:

• precis före refrängen = right before the chorus
• lite före refrängen = a little before the chorus
• någon gång före refrängen = at some point before the chorus

So the original sentence is neutral and leaves the exact timing open unless the context makes it clear.

Yes. If you want to give a direct command, you could say:

• Ändra volymen före refrängen. = Change the volume before the chorus.

This is more direct than Kan du ändra volymen före refrängen?

So the difference is mostly tone:

• Kan du ändra volymen före refrängen? = request / polite instruction
• Ändra volymen före refrängen. = direct command

In spoken Swedish, the question form is often preferred when you want to sound more natural or less abrupt.

Yes, you may hear ändra på volymen, and it can sound natural in some contexts.

Compare:

• ändra volymen = change the volume
• ändra på volymen = change the volume / adjust the volume

The version without på is very straightforward and fits this sentence well. The version with på can sometimes feel a bit more like adjusting or tinkering with something, depending on context.

So for a learner, ändra volymen is an excellent basic pattern to know.