The Canadian Elocutionist. Anna K. Howard
PITCH.
Pitch is the degree of elevation or depression of sound. On the proper pitching of the voice depends much of the ease of the speaker, and upon the modulation of the voice depends that variety which is so pleasing and so necessary to relieve the ear, but no definite rules can be given for the regulation of the pitch—the nature of the sentiment and discriminating taste must determine the proper key note of delivery. He who shouts at the top of his voice is almost sure to break it, and there is no sublimity in shouting, while he who mutters below the proper key note soon wearies himself, becomes inaudible, and oppresses his hearers. Pitch is distinguished as Middle, High, and Low.
MIDDLE PITCH.
The Middle Pitch is used in conversational language, and is the note that predominates in good reading and speaking.
1
A free, wild spirit unto thee is given,
Bright minstrel of the blue celestial dome!
For thou wilt wander to yon upper heaven,
And bathe thy plumage in the sunbeam's home;
And, soaring upward, from thy dizzy height,
On free and fearless wing, be lost to human sight.
Welby.
2
Eternal blessings crown my earliest friend,
And round his dwelling guardian saints attend!
Blest be that spot, where cheerful guests retire
To pause from toil, and trim their evening fire:
Blest that abode, where want and pain repair,
And every stranger finds a ready chair:
Blest be those feasts with simple plenty crowned,
Where all the ruddy family around
Laugh at the jests or pranks that never fail,
Or sigh with pity at some mournful tale;
Or press the bashful stranger to his food,
And learn the luxury of doing good.
Goldsmith.
HIGH PITCH.
High Pitch indicates command, joy, grief, astonishment, etc. To obtain a good control of the voice in a high pitch, practice frequently and energetically with the greatest force and in the highest key you can command. Do not forget to drop the jaw, so as to keep the mouth and throat well open, and be sure to thoroughly inflate the lungs at every sentence, and if the force requires it even on words. Do not allow the voice to break into an impure tone of any kind, but stop at once, rest for a short time and then begin again. The following examples are excellent for increasing the compass and flexibility of the voice, and the pupil must practice them frequently and with sustained force.
1.
"The game's afoot,
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England and Saint George!'"
Shakespeare.
2.
Ring! Ring!! Ring!!!
3.
MELNOTTE. Look you our bond is over. Proud conquerors that we are, we have won the victory over a simple girl—compromised her honour—embittered her life—blasted in their very blossoms, all the flowers of her youth. This is your triumph—it is my shame! Enjoy that triumph, but not in my sight. I was her betrayer—I am, her protector! Cross but her path—one word of scorn, one look of insult—nay, but one quiver of that mocking lip, and I will teach thee that bitter word thou hast graven eternally in this heart—Repentance!
BEAUSEANT. His Highness is most grandiloquent.
MELNOTTE. Highness me no more! Beware! Remorse has made me a new being.
Away with you! There is danger in me. Away!
Sir E. Bulwer Lytton.
4.
Up, comrades, up!—in Rokeby's halls,
Ne'er be it said our courage falls!
Sir Walter Scott.
5.
To arms! To arms!! a thousand voices cried.
6.
The combat deepens! On ye brave! Who rush to glory or the grave.
Campbell.
7.
Charcoal! Charcoal! Charcoal!
8.
Hurrah! Hurrah!! Hurrah!!!
LOW PITCH.
Low Pitch is used to express grave, grand, solemn, and reverential feelings, and is very effective in reading.
To obtain a good control of the voice in Low Pitch, first practice the examples given under the High Pitch, until you are fatigued, then after resting the lungs and vocal organs, practice the lowest and deepest tone you can command, giving, however, a full clear and resonant sound.
1.
Seems, Madam! Nay, it is; I know not 'seems,'
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath;
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected 'haviour of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly: these indeed, seem,
For they are actions that a man might play;
But I have that within that passes show;
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
Shakespeare.
2.
Then the earth shook and trembled: the foundations of Heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils; and fire out his mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens, also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet; and he rode upon a cherub, and did fly; and he was seen upon the wings of the wind; and he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies. The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice; and he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning and discomfited them. And the channels of the sea appeared; the foundations of the world were discovered at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.
3.
I am thy father's spirit;
Doomed for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confined to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature,
Are burned and purged away.
Shakespeare.
Unchanged through time's all-devastating flight;
Thou only God! There is no God beside!
Being above all beings! Three-in-One!
Whom none can comprehend, and none explore;
Who fill'st existence with Thyself alone;
Embracing all—supporting—ruling o'er—