Pipe Organs and Composition:

A simple treatise on registering the most complex instrument built in

history

Joshua Nichols

Starting Guidelines
It is important to know how a pipe organ is built and organized. Though knowing the
specics is very useful, a general knowledge of how pipes are built is essential.
There are two types of pipes:
Flue

This type of pipe is either open or closed in construction, and it resonates

freely through the pipe when pressurized air ows through it. In 99.9% of
all organs built with faade pipes (or pipes that you can see in plain sight)
are ues.

Reed

These pipes resonate the same as a ue, but utilize resonating reeds (like
an oboe or clarinet) that color the sound of the pipe by vibrating against
the pipe or another reed or piece of metal. Generally speaking, these look
like inverted cones (think trumpets).

In addition, pipes are organized into dierent classes and parts:

A rank is a single collection of a color and length of pipe.
A division is a collection of ranks controlled by a particular keyboard.
A stop is a single voice of a rank (either in an entire rank or part of one rank).
A stop draw-knob or tab is a wooden or plastic knob which engages a single stop.
A manual is a single keyboard (usually found in groups of two to three).

 Couplers are stops (tabs or knobs) which can manipulate which manuals control
which divisions.
Ranks are usually organized by length rst, then color.
Organs are usually judged in size by how many ranks of pipes are found in the
organ (e.g. X organ is 56 ranks and has three manuals).
Beyond this information, it is also important to understand what the numbers or roman numerals mean on an organ draw-knob or tab (as well as the quality of sound they
produce):
Any arabic-style numeral displayed on a tab or draw-knob indicates the length of
the lowest speaking pipe in that particular rank (e.g. 8 is displayed, which means
the lowest speaking pipe is eight feet long).
Any roman-style numeral indicates how many ranks of pipes speak when engaging
that particular stop (e.g. V is displayed, which means ve dierent ranks of pipes
are speaking at once).
These stops are generally regarded as mixtures or mutations. These stops
never play by themselves in traditional organ literature; they are used in addition to foundation stops, or single ranks of lower pitch (such as 8, 4,
and 2) for the purpose of adding color and expanding the sympathetic tonal
spectrum.
Finally, there is a physical component to how the organ is organized:
The keyboards that are played with hands are called manuals or manual divisions.
They are organized in the following order:
Great

comprises the loudest and most projected sounds coming from the
organ. It houses the greatest sounds. Think fortissimo and forte dynamic levels (with modern variations). With exception to a couple of
American organ builders, the division of pipes that corresponds with
this manual is not enclosed (or under expression).

Swell

comprises stops that can be soft or loud, but are under expression;
this means that the pipes are enclosed in a large box which can be
opened or closed with shutters to change the dynamic and (primarily)
color of the stops. These stops can swell with emotion. Think forte
to pianissimo dynamics.

Choir

comprises usually the softest and sometimes more interesting stops

of the organ, containing solo stops and/or mutations suitable for creating solo eects. It also is not necessarily under expression (if it
is not under expression, it is sometimes called the Positiv or Positif).
The church choir is most easily accompanied by this division of pipes.
Think pianissississimo to mezzo piano/mezzo forte dynamics.

Orchestral comprised usually of uniquely voiced stops that do not t into traditional stop categories, or perhaps better resemble the sounds of an
orchestra or percussion instruments. They can also be under expression. E.g. First Baptist Church in Jackson, MS, has a beautiful Cello
stop at 8 and 4 in the Orchestral division that pairs beautifully with
the ute chorus on the Choir. Theater organs tend to have specialized divisions of orchestral stops such as Timpani, Snare Drum, Xylophone, etc. Think pianissississimo to fortississississimo dynamics.
Pedal

This division is played with the feet. It is not enclosed, and it also contains the lowest speaking pipes of the organ. It also usually doesnt
have unusual sounds.

Modern organs are organized in this order; if there is only one manual, that manual is
the Great; if there are only two manuals, then those manuals are the Great and the Swell
(and so on and so forth). There are older instruments (especially those built in Bachs
time) that were organized very dierently, and thus were referred to dierently. Unless
you are composing for a specic instrument of this nature, it will not be important to
know the dierent names.1

The Page
On a piece of organ music there are three things which are common to the displaying
of notation:
1. A registration marking, usually at the top left of the page next to the title or before
the music, indicating what stops to use on which divisions.
2. A manual indication which may have a right-opening curly brace or none describing where to place the hands to play what is written on the sta.2
3. A grand sta for manuals and a separate but ungrouped sta below to indicate the
pedal notes.
1
2

Note: An organ does not need a pedal division to be an organ.

Designating one hand for each sta in the grand sta is displayed by placing the roman numeral or
name of the division directly above the sta.

Final Considerations
It can still be overwhelming to register a work for organ, no matter how simplied the
methodology might be, but keeping in mind the general layout of the organ will help
mitigate this kind of grief.
Here are some good rules of thumb or general guidelines:
1. Avoid referring to the specic names of stops in your registration unless you are
commissioned or asked to write for a specic instrument. Referring to the color,
length, and general name of a sound is more useful for an organist (they will not
generally listen to very specic requests of stops anyway unless they are playing
on the specic instrument for which the composition is set).
2. If after this guide you arent sure what type of of registration ts what you want,
describe what mood or atmosphere you want to project through the composition
in postscript notes, or in comments. Communicating your desires and wishes
with a fellow organist is also good (generally we are compliant if you ask nicely).

The Simple Treatise

Remember how there are only two types of pipes? Well, there are major dierences
even within each type of pipe. It is important to understand these dierences so that
embarrassing and nave mistakes are not made. This comprises the majority of concerns
with registrations.
Within ues, here are the dierent colors (in all cases, these stops are classied from
loudest to softest):
Principal

[32],3 16, 8, 4, 2, [1], and Mixtures (usually IV or V rank): These are the
loudest-speaking ue pipes, and they often overpower all other ues. Generally speaking, these pipes are not combined with any other ues in registration.4

Mixtures

II, III, IV, V, VI, [VII], and graduated (e.g. IVV): The sounds that are emitted
from mixtures are generally shrill and shiny in color. A mixture must

3
4

[] indicate non-standard lengths of pipes. These types of pipes are found in larger organ installations.
The greatest exception would be the French Symphonic/Romantic organ building style, whereby the
utes were often closer in sound to principals, so there was an implicit practice of using the utes
with the principals.

sound at least two dierent ranks of pipes. They usually never sound the
fundamental pitch played, but upper harmonics above it (such as thirds,
fths, and so on).
Flutes

Warm to hard; [32], [16], 8, 4, [2], [1], and Mixtures (usually II or III rank):
Depending on the type of material used to construct this pipe, it could
sound as warm and as sweet as an orchestral ute or possibly as harsh and
present as a principal stop.

In the case of reeds, there are far more dierences of tonal quality and loudness than in
the ue category. Here are the dierent colors:
Trumpet

[16], 8, 4, [2]: These are perhaps the loudest pipes known on the organ and
cover a general family of sounds. These sounds closely resemble the sound
of a trumpet, trombone, or tuba.

Solo

Usually reeds; 8, 4: These are usually softer reeds under expression used
for solo voice and accompaniment-type works. They can be as loud as
trumpets, but generally are softer and take on less harsh tonal characteristics.

Strings

[16], 8, 4: These often resemble the sounds that a string orchestra makes.
They take on the most luscious colors of the organ and became quite pervasive in the Romantic era style of organ building.

Other

[16], 8, 4: These stops vary from organ to organ, and have varying ranges
of loudness, harshness, and other colors. They can be quite useful to form
a specic sound in mind. Generally, though, avoiding registering for this
type of stop is suggested (e.g. The Tuba stop at 8 on the organ at First
Presbyterian Church of Jackson, MS, is great for leading congregational
singing in new or unfamiliar hymns, but this stop is not common in other
churches).

This introduction qualies all rules of registration from here on out. There is a tonal
precedent with the pipe organ, so understanding the dynamic interest of a composition
and its character/atmosphere is key.

Figuring it all out with dignity

Unless one should write something churchy or not loud as a registration, it is useful to
know how to put together a registration that you understand. This allows more eective
communication when or if an organist contacts you for clarication, or when they need

to ask for permission (!) to amend or change what you have suggested. Not only is it
important to understand what you have written, but also that what you have written is
sensible and dignied.5 Below you will nd (much like tonal harmony) rules that help
you to understand what you should write in relationship to registration, and to help you
communicate eectively with your future collaborators.

Rule 1
Less is more.

Why? The beautiful thing about modern technology and digital organs is that you can
simply play around with it underneath a pair of headphones and nd sounds that you
like. This has led to many problems, however, because real organs and larger installations of digital organs are unanimously much louder than their small counterparts in
practice rooms or home organs, even with softer stops.
Contrary to haircuts, it is always easier to add stops in a registration as an organist than
it is to take liberty to take away registrations. This is because listing complex stop combinations (other than the fact that it might break one of these rules) adds ambiguity. Take
these examples:
1. I: Flutes 8, 4
Ped: Flutes 16, 8
a) Okay, I know what this person wantssoft, with a bodybut my organs
utes need a little more body, so Ill register with a Principal 8 in addition.
2. I: Flutes 8, 4, Principal 8, 4, Strings 8
Ped: Flutes 16, 8, 4, Principal 16, Ped/I
a) Im not sure what type of sound they wantit seems the utes conict with
the character of the principals, what sound did they have in mind?? What are
the strings doing for the color of the sound?

Rule 2
Mutations (and mixtures) must mutate (or mix) something.
5

Organists will take your compositions more seriously when you know better, and you will gain respect
more naturally.

Why? Something that hasnt been explained in detail before is the nature of mutations
and mixtures. These stops are only designed to expand a foundational tonality, because
they utilize harmonics containing multiple ranks of pipes sounding at consecutive octaves and fths (and in some cases, thirds). They require foundational stops (particularly
8, 4, and sometimes 2) because they use higher harmonics which, without the foundation stops, obscure the tonality. If you were to just use a mixture rank without any
foundational stops, you would not hear the actual pitch dictated in the score when you
played that note, because you would be hearing fths and thirds above the written pitch.

Rule 3
Loud stops always overpower soft(er) stops.

Why? The rule of thumb is precisely this; do not register strings with principals.6 Principals are the louder stops, and thus it should be expected that one will never hear the
strings if the principals are present. The same thing goes for utes and principals; just
dont do it.
Below is a table of some of the most common stops:
pianissimo

piano

Wood
utes,
Vox
Humana

Metal
utes,
Strings

mezzo
piano
SuperFlutes,
Solo
Flutes,
Principals

mezzo
forte
Mixtures,
SuperPrincipals,
Soft
Reeds

forte

fortissimo

Loud
Reeds

SuperReeds,
Solo
Reeds,
Trumpets

One exception is the tutti (or with all) registration. In this, generally reeds are combined with principal chorus. This is a hair-blower registration and is generally meant
to signal large and grandiose passages of organ music (so, basically, the opposite of delicate).

Rule 4
The speed of the music must take the inverse in registration.
6

There can be exceptions, but playing it safe is better for the organist.

Why?
Busy music takes time to speak with pipes. If you have fast moving music,
avoid using reeds (of any kind), especially louder ones. Reeds have an extra interface
(the vibrating reed) which means it takes a little more time to speak. Couple this with
fast moving music, and the registration will take on a muddy sound, a sound for which
no professional organist can compensate in terms of articulation to make clearer. Have
slower moving music? How about grandiose passages? Those are great for mixtures,
lots of high-pitched principals, and reeds. Use discretion.7

Final Thoughts
These rules should go a long way to bringing light to what seems like a daunting or
mysterious task. However, if anything remains unclear even after seeking counsel, then
the best thing to do would be to study the real thing; nding (or buying) recordings and
sheet music of the Greats makes understanding registration a lot easier. Of course, if
something remains unclear, or if you need personal clarication, the best way to reach
me is by email.8 Happy registering!

Of course, if you are having trouble, try it out on a real pipe organ, pass it on to another organist, or
ask an organ professor.
8
puritanverlag@gmail.com