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DESCRIPTION OF STOPS
PITCH FOOTAGE
The number appearing on each stop along with its name indicates the "pitch" or
"register" of the particular stop. It is characteristic of the organ that notes of
different pitches may be sounded from a single playing key. When this sound
corresponds to the actual pitch of the playing key, the note (or stop) is referred to
as being of 8' pitch; therefore, when an 8' stop is selected and middle C is
depressed, the pitch heard will be middle C. If it sounds an octave higher, it is
called 4' or octave pitch. If it sounds two octaves higher, it is called 2' pitch, while
a stop sounding three octaves higher is at 1' pitch. Likewise, a 16' stop sounds an
octave lower, and a 32' stop sounds two octaves lower.
Stops of 32', 16', 8', 4', 2', and 1' pitch all have octave relationships, that is, these
"even numbered" stops all sound octaves of whatever key is depressed. Pitches
other than octaves are also used in organ playing. Their footage number always
contains a fraction, and they are referred to as mutations. Among these are the
Nasard and Quinte 2-2/3', Tierce 1-3/5', and Quintflöte 1-1/3'. Because they
introduce unusual pitch relationships with respect to the fundamental (8') tone,
they are most effective when combined with other stops, and are used either in solo
passages or in small ensembles of flutes (see explanation of Cornet in Section II).
TONAL FAMILIES
Organ tones divide into two main categories: flues and reeds. In a pipe organ, flue
pipes are those in which the sound is set in motion by wind striking directly on the
edge of the mouth of the pipe. Flues include principal tones, flute tones, and string
tones.
Compound stops and hybrid stops are "variations" within these three
families.
The term "imitative" means that the organ stop imitates the sound of the
corresponding orchestral instrument; for example, an imitative "Viola 8'" would be
a stop voiced to sound like an orchestral viola.
1
Section I
MDS-30 LDS
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