How does pitch relate to intonation?
We are constantly going up and down in pitch when we speak. This is referred to as intonation, and intonation helps us to tell our listener more than words alone.
Think about it: Imagine you have received very good news and are telling your friend about this – your pitch will get higher because you are excited and happy. The listener is able to recognise the joy from your voice. Alternatively, if you have received bad news, you may speak in a lower pitch with less change in your pitch.
Changing your intonation can completely change your overall message. It can let your listener know if you are asking them a question, or telling them an instruction.
Changing the rise and fall of your voice can also change how people might perceive you. For example, if a person has a very animated voice, with a lot of ups and downs in their intonation, you may perceive them as someone who is very outgoing and full of energy. Alternatively, if someone speaks with a flatter tone of voice, you may perceive the person as someone is more introverted or quiet.
Changing your intonation patterns (e.g. the rise and fall in your speech) may be something you wish to explore further. The activity below enables you to better understand your current intonation patterns, and explore other patterns you may wish to use.
Activity to explore your intonation
1. Read the passage below as you would normally read aloud. Tune-in to any changes in your pitch as you read.
2. Now, re-read the passage aloud but, this time, imagine you are a children’s entertainer. Exaggerate the rise and fall in your speech. Think about how this feels in your throat, and how this sounds to you.
3. Finally, re-read the passage again, but, this time, imagine you are sharing very sad news to a small group of people. See how this affects your intonation. Think about how this feels different to your first two readings.
Rainbow Passage:
When the sunlight strikes raindrops in the air, they act as a prism and form a rainbow. The rainbow is a division of white light into many beautiful colours. These take the shape of a long round arch, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, but no one ever finds it.
How did this feel?
Do you feel increasing or reducing your intonation pattern feels more like ‘you’? Do you feel this is something you would like to bring into your everyday speech?
