The phrase "a shift of tone" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a change in the manner or attitude of communication, whether in writing or speech.
Example: "The author’s use of humor in the first chapter is followed by a shift of tone in the later sections, where the narrative becomes more serious."
Alternatives: "a change in tone" or "a tonal shift".
We sorely need a more balanced and sensitive conversation about migration, yet political and popular discourses are so poisoned, all attempts at a shift of tone get shouted down.
At the story's halfway point –a New Year's Eve party marking the start of 1980 – there is a murder and a suicide that herald a shift of tone from the carefree to the cruel.
In a shift of tone, reflecting Labour's current low credibility on the economy, he said: "No matter how much we dislike particular Tory sending cuts or tax rises we cannot make promises now to reverse them".
FRANKFURT — In a shift of tone that may signal more commitment to keep the euro zone in one piece, Germany's finance minister ruled out the possibility that any country would ever be ejected from the European monetary union, and said calls to restore the Deutsche mark were "unrealistic nostalgia".
While a great game, the change in developer led to a noticeable shift of tone, possessing a slapstick quality that was less dark than Shiny's original.
In a drastic shift of tone and subject, here's a lovely, nostalgic essay by Garrison Keillor, from the latest issue of National Geographic.
In a marked shift of tone from recent days, she stressed a commitment to funding the NHS, building grammar schools and improving further education to claim that getting the right Brexit deal would underpinthe social reform agenda at home.
It seemed a subtle shift of tone from that of his predecessor.
Trump's labeling of the House bill as "mean" was a significant shift of tone that followed months of private and public negotiations, during which he called the bill "great" and urged GOP lawmakers to vote for it.
In a marked shift of tone, as Europe's human rights watchdog criticised Britain for failing to offer shelter, Cameron spoke of how moved he was by the picture of Aylan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body was washed up on a Turkish beach.
Mr. Gerstein was always ready with a slight acceleration, a hairsbreadth rubato or a sudden, subtle shift of tone to keep you on your toes.
