Inflection is
often inferred by the mind of the listener when the person speaking
abruptly drops from high to low pitch without rendering the intervening
sound. The absence of the fulfilment of inflection robs the speech of much
of its musical quality and much of its appeal to the feelings; for
inflection is the musical expression of the thought, and depends upon
feeling. The expression of this relationship of intelligence and emotion
is a subtle and powerful appeal,--the realization of true
culture,--combining thought and feeling. We know what a man means
literally by the abrupt or emphatic changes of the pitch or pressure; but
we know what the fact means to his feelings by the slides and cadences. It
is difficult to over-emphasize the importance of that characterization
which awakens a keen sense of the _musical_ meaning as corresponding
to the _thought_. This perception brings music into the speech and,
if it be awakened to the extent of a real love for the music itself,
develops a smooth and quiet clearness in the communication of thought and
feeling which is the greatest charm of conversation and of descriptive and
narrative utterance.
VOCAL RANGE
It is ordinarily considered that the range of the speaking voice is very
limited as compared with the singer's range.
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