Many speakers tend to use their lowest pitch while speaking, which not a good idea for sounding American and being well understood. Use a medium pitch for your home base.
Rise up in pitch to stress, words, and fall off in pitch to end thought groups.
Try practicing pitch for statements and questions, without using any words. Try it using numbers for pitches:
1 for low, 2 for medium, 3 for high.
In a typical statement - we rise to the stressed word then fall off to end.
For example, try saying "I want it."
I want it is medium, high, low
2 - 3 - 1
Other phrases with this pattern:
I want it.
I like it.
He needs you.
Now try saying "I don't want to do that"
2 -2 -2 -2 -3 - 1
We use the same basic pattern of medium pitch, then rising and falling on the stressed word near the end.
We also speak faster on the unstressed part of the phrase, and stretch out the stressed word.
2222 -3 -1
I don’t want to d o that.
I think I can m a k e it.
I told her to c a l l me.
We need that length on the stressed word, because sometimes it has 2 pitches if it’s the last word in the sentence. For example, try saying "I don’t know."
2 2 3-1
I don’t k n o w.
Know has the both the rise to stress it and the fall to show the thought is finished.
k n o w
Other examples for this pattern:
I can’t g o .
It will h a p p e n.
He’ll c a l l.
If you have difficulty with these pitch changes, try just doing the numbers.
Then add some sentences.
Then listen for what you hear in a sentence. Can you hear the pitch rise and fall? Can you think of another sentence with the same pattern?