Читать книгу THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING - J. BERG ESENWEIN DALE CARNAGEY - Страница 12

Speech is simply a modified form of singing: the principal

difference being in the fact that in singing the vowel sounds

are prolonged and the intervals are short, whereas in speech the

words are uttered in what may be called "staccato" tones, the

vowels not being specially prolonged and the intervals between

the words being more distinct. The fact that in singing we have

a larger range of tones does not properly distinguish it from

ordinary speech. In speech we have likewise a variation of

tones, and even in ordinary conversation there is a difference

of from three to six semi-tones, as I have found in my

investigations, and in some persons the range is as high as one

octave.

--WILLIAM SCHEPPEGRELL, _Popular Science Monthly_.

By pitch, as everyone knows, we mean the relative position of a vocal

tone--as, high, medium, low, or any variation between. In public speech

we apply it not only to a single utterance, as an exclamation or a

monosyllable (_Oh!_ or _the_) but to any group of syllables, words, and

even sentences that may be spoken in a single tone. This distinction it

is important to keep in mind, for the efficient speaker not only changes

the pitch of successive syllables (see Chapter VII, "Efficiency through

Inflection"), but gives a different pitch to different parts, or

word-groups, of successive sentences. It is this phase of the subject

which we are considering in this chapter.

_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.

The following exercise should be spoken in a purely conversational

tone, with numerous changes of pitch. Practise it until your delivery

would cause a stranger in the next room to think you were discussing an

actual incident with a friend, instead of delivering a memorized

monologue. If you are in doubt about the effect you have secured, repeat

it to a friend and ask him if it sounds like memorized words. If it

does, it is wrong.

_A SIMILAR CASE_

Jack, I hear you've gone and done it.--Yes, I know; most fellows

will; went and tried it once myself, sir, though you see I'm

single still. And you met her--did you tell me--down at Newport,

last July, and resolved to ask the question at a _soirée_? So

did I.

I suppose you left the ball-room, with its music and its light;

for they say love's flame is brightest in the darkness of the

night. Well, you walked along together, overhead the starlit

sky; and I'll bet--old man, confess it--you were frightened. So

was I.

So you strolled along the terrace, saw the summer moonlight pour

all its radiance on the waters, as they rippled on the shore,

till at length you gathered courage, when you saw that none was

nigh--did you draw her close and tell her that you loved her? So

did I.

Well, I needn't ask you further, and I'm sure I wish you joy.

Think I'll wander down and see you when you're married--eh, my

boy? When the honeymoon is over and you're settled down, we'll

try--What? the deuce you say! Rejected--you rejected? So was

I.

--_Anonymous_.

The necessity for changing pitch is so self-evident that it should be

grasped and applied immediately. However, it requires patient drill to

free yourself from monotony of pitch.

In natural conversation you think of an idea first, and then find words

to express it. In memorized speeches you are liable to speak the words,

and then think what they mean--and many speakers seem to trouble very

little even about that. Is it any wonder that reversing the process

should reverse the result? Get back to nature in your methods of

expression.

Read the following selection in a nonchalant manner, never pausing to

think what the words really mean. Try it again, carefully studying the

thought you have assimilated. Believe the idea, desire to express it

effectively, and imagine an audience before you. Look them earnestly in

the face and repeat this truth. If you follow directions, you will note

that you have made many changes of pitch after several readings.

It is not work that kills men; it is worry. Work is healthy; you

can hardly put more upon a man than he can bear. Worry is rust

upon the blade. It is not the revolution that destroys the

machinery but the friction.

--HENRY WARD BEECHER.

_Change of Pitch Produces Emphasis_

This is a highly important statement. Variety in pitch maintains the

hearer's interest, but one of the surest ways to compel attention--to

secure unusual emphasis--is to change the pitch of your voice suddenly

and in a marked degree. A great contrast always arouses attention. White

shows whiter against black; a cannon roars louder in the Sahara silence

than in the Chicago hurly burly--these are simple illustrations of the

power of contrast.

"What is Congress going to do next?

(High pitch) |

|

| I do not know."

-----------------

(Low pitch)

By such sudden change of pitch during a sermon Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis

recently achieved great emphasis and suggested the gravity of the

question he had raised.

The foregoing order of pitch-change might be reversed with equally good

effect, though with a slight change in seriousness--either method

produces emphasis when used intelligently, that is, with a common-sense

appreciation of the sort of emphasis to be attained.

In attempting these contrasts of pitch it is important to avoid

unpleasant extremes. Most speakers pitch their voices too high. One of

the secrets of Mr. Bryan's eloquence is his low, bell-like voice.

Shakespeare said that a soft, gentle, low voice was "an excellent thing

in woman;" it is no less so in man, for a voice need not be blatant to

be powerful,--and _must_ not be, to be pleasing.

In closing, let us emphasize anew the importance of using variety of

pitch. You sing up and down the scale, first touching one note and then

another above or below it. Do likewise in speaking.

Thought and individual taste must generally be your guide as to where to

use a low, a moderate, or a high pitch.