Every Change in the Thought Demands a Change in the Voice-Pitch

Whether the speaker follows the rule consciously, unconsciously, or subconsciously, this is the logical basis upon which all good voice variation is made, yet this law is violated more often than any other by public speakers.  A criminal may disregard a law of the state without detection and punishment, but the speaker who violates this regulation suffers its penalty at once in his loss of effectiveness, while his innocent hearers must endure the monotony—­for monotony is not only a sin of the perpetrator, as we have shown, but a plague on the victims as well.

Change of pitch is a stumbling block for almost all beginners, and for many experienced speakers also.  This is especially true when the words of the speech have been memorized.

If you wish to hear how pitch-monotony sounds, strike the same note on the piano over and over again.  You have in your speaking voice a range of pitch from high to low, with a great many shades between the extremes.  With all these notes available there is no excuse for offending the ears and taste of your audience by continually using the one note.  True, the reiteration of the same tone in music—­as in pedal point on an organ composition—­may be made the foundation of beauty, for the harmony weaving about that one basic tone produces a consistent, insistent quality not felt in pure variety of chord sequences.  In like manner the intoning voice in a ritual may—­though it rarely does—­possess a solemn beauty.  But the public speaker should shun the monotone as he would a pestilence.

Continual Change of Pitch is Nature’s Highest Method

In our search for the principles of efficiency we must continually go back to nature.  Listen—­really listen—­to the birds sing.  Which of these feathered tribes are most pleasing in their vocal efforts:  those whose voices, though sweet, have little or no range, or those that, like the canary, the lark, and the nightingale, not only possess a considerable range but utter their notes in continual variety of combinations?  Even a sweet-toned chirp, when reiterated without change, may grow maddening to the enforced listener.

The little child seldom speaks in a monotonous pitch.  Observe the conversations of little folk that you hear on the street or in the home, and note the continual changes of pitch.  The unconscious speech of most adults is likewise full of pleasing variations.

Imagine someone speaking the following, and consider if the effect would not be just about as indicated.  Remember, we are not now discussing the inflection of single words, but the general pitch in which phrases are spoken.

(High pitch) “I’d like to leave for my vacation tomorrow,—­(lower) still, I have so much to do. (Higher) Yet I suppose if I wait until I have time I’ll never go.”

Repeat this, first in the pitches indicated, and then all in the one pitch, as many speakers would.  Observe the difference in naturalness of effect.