modulation

Noun

• the act of modifying or adjusting according to due measure and proportion (as with regard to artistic effect)

• a manner of speaking in which the loudness or pitch or tone of the voice is modified

• rise and fall of the voice pitch

• (electronics) the transmission of a signal by using it to vary a carrier wave; changing the carrier's amplitude or frequency or phase

• a musical passage moving from one key to another

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  inflection , intonation , pitch contour , transition