Madrilejos, Robert T.

IV-2 AB/BSE Literature

DEVELOPMENT OF VOICE
Developing Versatility
I.

INTRODUCTION
Versatility is the quality or state of making many different things (Merriam
Webster). If applied to voice, versatility would mean the state or act of the
capacity of our voice to change as we speak. Versatility of voice is one of the
very crucial skills that a teacher must develop because it makes the
classroom instruction more meaningful and lively.
Versatility of voice includes variation of voice. Variation must be called for
by the meaning of words and the legitimate purposes of the speaker (Gupit,
1986). There are six ways in which we can vary our voice according to Gupit
and these are as follow:
a. rate;
b. force;
c. pitch;
d. quality;
e. emphasis; and
f. vocal climax

II.
i.

DEVELOPING VERSATILITY
Rate
Rate is the speed in speaking. The allowable rate is not so fast that
the speaker cannot be understood and not so slow that the speaker tends
to be boring to listen to.
The phasing of our words depend the situation we are into. Serious
situations demand a slower rate while light situations demand for faster
rate. Lines that evoke thought need to be delivered slowly while lines that
narrate a story, which usually contain simple words, must be uttered a little
fast.
There are two elements of rate and these are quantity and pause
a. Quantity
Quantity is the length of time to spent within spoken words. We
prolong or shorten quantity to help convey the meaning of words.
Example:

The word roll is longer in quantity than the word hit because former
denotes a prolonged action while the latters a swift action.
b. Pause
Pause is the length of time spent in silence between words. The

ii.

following are the purposes in pausing:

1. To divide sentences into thought phrases
2. To enable the audience to think
3. To create suspense
Force
Force is the loudness in speaking. The appropriate force depends
upon the meaning or the purpose of the speaker. Force may be
classified as to degree, form and stress.
a. Degree
Degree refers to the amount applied ranging from a whisper
to a shout.
b. Form
Form refers to the manner in which force is applied.
1. Effusive force
2. Expulsive force
3. Explosive force
c. Stress
Stress is the force applied to different syllable in a word or to
different words in a phase.

iii.

Pitch
Pitch is the musical position of speech sound. The range of the
pitch of our voice is fixed, although it may be widened through practice.
The appropriate changes in pitch depend upon the meaning of the
words and the purpose of the speaker
1. Intonation
Intonation is the rise and fall in the sound of your voice when
you speak.
2. Inflection
Inflection has the same meaning with the intonation only that
the latter has a broader sense than the former.
a. glide or slide is the gradual change in the pitch
b. step is the abrupt change of pitch

iv.

Quality

Quality is the kind of voice we have, may it be resonant, mellow,

rich, pleasant, weak, thin, guttural, nasal, rough, etc. Quality is
determined by vibration and amplification.
A good speaking voice is one that is resonant, loud and clear.
v.

Emphasis
Emphasis is any act of the speaker that calls attention to the ideas
being conveyed. We ordinarily employ vocal emphasis by going slower
in rate, louder in force, higher in pitch, separately or simultaneously.

vi.

Vocal Climax
Vocal climax is a vocal expression that grows steadily in power or
intensifies gradually in feeling until the peak is reached.
It can be achieved through:
1. increasing vocal power (going faster in rate, louder in force, and
higher in pitch
2. decreasing vocal power (going slower in rate, softer in force, and
lower in pitch) but accompanied by an increasing intensity in
emotion.

III.

ACTIVITY
Let the students recite the poem Pedagogic by Cirilo Bautista. Bear in the
mind the correct pronunciation and enunciation of words.
PEDAGOGIC
Cirilo Bautista
I walked towards the falling woods
To teach the trees all that I could
Of time and birth, the language of men,
The virtues of hate and loving.
I knew the footnotes, all the text,
My words were precise and correctThey listened to me with a serious mien.
I was sure that they were learningTill one tree spoke, speaking in dolor,
To ask why I never changed color.

Reference:
Gupit, Fortunato. (1986). Elements of Public Speaking. 4 th Edition, Rex Bookstore,
Manila, Philippines