LAMDA GRADE 7: Modulation with theory examples

Volume

From poem: 'Gentlemen' where there is an increase in volume as the scenario changes to the speaker addressing a larger audience, the volume change differentiates the two speakers and the context.

Pace

From poem: 'Rise on his hind legs...then address his opposition' Pace quickens in the list then slows on last line to get serious

Tempo/rate

The overall rate and pacing of the piece (a quick, rapid poem may have slow bits). From prose: 'Thankfully, it's never had that effect on me. I've always known it was coming, perhaps that's the difference?' The tempo slows to indicate sinister, calculated nature of the character.

Pitch

From sonnet: 'Yet if you should forget me' the pitch rises on 'should' to begin to soften the sestet of the sonnet granting permission.

Emotional intesity

From sonnet: The nature of this sonnet is about love and death calls for emotional intensity throughout to add depth for the reader

Tone colour

This is the difference between light and shade in the voice, and is caused by the amount of resonance used from different parts of the body. From sonnet: The entire sestet in the sonnet, in comparison to the octet, is lighter in tone colour to reflect the emotion of the piece - dark tone colour from chest resonance, light tone colour from softer resonance in the cheek bones and nasal cavity.

Word stress

The stress within words (such a as 'aBOUT', 'EXerCISE')

Sentence stress

The stress of whole words within each sentence. This makes all the difference when it comes to the meaning of the sentence (eg: 'It's time for you to LEAVE' / 'It's time for YOU to leave'). From prose: 'She didn't shriek or wail'

Inflection

Inflection is the rise and fall in pitch of the voice during speech. As it rises and falls it creates patterns. These patterns will often have either a rising tune or a falling tune.

Inflection: Rising tune

Pitch rises at the end of the sentence. Used when asking questions and conveying doubt, anxiety, surprise. From prose: 'How can you prove something didn't happen when the only witness was you?'

Inflection: falling tune

The pitch of the stressed syllables drops from a higher note to a lower one. Often used at the end of breath-groups, for commands, to show aggression, agreement, strong emotion, or to ask questions that don't have a yes/no answer. From prose: 'I didn't yell, or run to fetch someone. I didn't even notice my phone in my hand' (go up and down naturally on it)

Modulation

Modulation is varying the voice in order to convey the meaning, mood and emotion. Modulating the style or delivery helps create a clear and engaging performance. One may practice extending the range of modulation, but in performance consciously modulating the voice may sound artificial- with a well prepared voice modulation will be the natural consequence of conveying the thoughts and feeling of the writing.