List of pipe organ stops

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For audio examples, see the article on organ stops.

An organ stop can mean one of three things:

  • the control on an organ console that selects a particular sound
  • the row of organ pipes used to create a particular sound, more appropriately known as a rank
  • the sound itself

Organ stops are sorted into four major types: principal, string, reed, and flute.

This is a sortable list of names that may be found associated with electronic and pipe organ stops. Countless stops have been designed over the centuries, and individual organs may have stops, or names of stops, used nowhere else. This non-comprehensive list deals mainly with names of stops found on numerous Baroque, classical and romantic organs. Here are a few of the most common ones:

Stop name Alternative name Type Notes
Aeoline Aéoline
String an extremely small scaled stop with a very delicate, airy tone; built frequently as a single-rank stop, or as a double-rank celeste.
Baryton Bariton Reed 16' or 8' reed stop imitative of the instrument
Blockflöte Blokfluit Flute German for "recorder"; a wide scaled conical or stopped flute of 4′ or 2′ pitch, taking its name from the common flute called a "recorder" which its tone closely resembles
Bombarde Reed a powerful chorus reed stop with a brassy timbre, occurring on the manuals at 16′ (and occasionally 8′), or in the pedal at 16′ or 32′ pitch; similar tone as the Ophicleide or Trombone or bazuin
Bourdon Flute a wide-scaled stopped-flute, 16′ or 8′ on the manuals, and 16′ or 32′ in the pedals (where it may be called Subbass or Contra Bourdon)
Cello Violoncelle String a string stop at 8′ or 16′; has a warmer, more "romantic" tone than the Gamba
Chimney Flute Flute a stopped flue stop with a chimneyed stopper.
Choralbass Koraalbas


Principal a 4′ strongly voiced octave Diapason in the pedal division, mainly for cantus firmus use
Claribel Clarabel Flute
Claribel Flute
Flute an 8′ open wood manual stop.
Clarinet Clarinette
Reed a reed stop with a rich tone imitating the orchestral instrument
Clarion Clairon Reed 4′ or 2′ Trumpet, it is a chorus reed
Cor Anglais Engelse hoorn Reed 16' or 8' reed stop imitative of the instrument.
Cornet Flute A multi-rank stop consisting of up to five ranks of wide-scaled pipes. The pitches include 8′, 4′, 2+23′, 2′ and 1+35′. Three- and four-rank cornets eliminate 8′ and 4′ ranks. This stop is not imitative of the orchestral cornet.
Cornopean Reed 8′ chorus reed similar to the Trumpet; normally located in the Swell division.
Cromorne Krummhorn Kromhoorn


Reed Cylindrical solo reed that has a distinct buzzing or bleating sound, imitative of the historical instrument of the same name
Diapason Montre
Open Diapason
Tenori[1] Prestant



Principal A flue stop that is the "backbone" sound of the organ. Most commonly at 8′ in manuals, and 8′ or 16′ in the pedals.
Diaphone A special type of organ pipe that produces tone by using a felt hammer to beat air through the resonator. Common on theatre organs, not often used in classical instruments.
Dulcian Reed A reed stop at 8' pitch on the manuals with a tone similar to that of a bassoon.
Dulciana String An 8' metal string stop. Usually the softest stop on an organ.
Fagotto Bassoon
Reed 16' chorus reed. Inverted conical construction, softer than a trumpet or trombone.
Flageolet Flute A flute stop of 2' or 1' pitch.
Flute Octaviante Flute 4' Harmonic Flute.
Fugara Principal/String hybrid A flue stop in 4' or 8' pitch. The tone has a sharp "stringy" quality.[2]
Gamba Viola da Gamba

Viola di Gambe

String A string stop that has a thinner, more cutting tone than the Cello stop. It one of the earliest designs of string stops, and is named after the Baroque instrument viola da gamba.
Gedackt Gedeckt
Stopped Diapason
Gemshorn Cor de Chamois Flute/String hybrid A flue stop usually at 4', 2', pitch but sometimes 8' pitch; similar tone as Spitz Flute
Gravissima Name for a resultant 64' flue (a 32' stop combined with a 2123' stop, which is a fifth, producing a difference tone of 8 Hz on low C.)
Harmonic Flute Echo stop- a quiet stop regulated by a Huel bar and with a flute tone. Flute An open metal flute made to sound an octave above its length by means of a small hole at its midpoint. This stop has a very pure flute tone and was popularized by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.
Hohlflöte Hohlflute
Flute A metal or wooden 8' open or stopped flute.
Keraulophon Flute A flue stop at 8' pitch with a stringy, reedy tone.
Larigot Flute Flute mutation stop at 1+13′ pitch
Mixture Fourniture
Plein Jeu
Principal Multi-rank stops that enhance the harmonics of the fundamental pitch, and are intended for use with foundation stops, not alone. Mixture IV indicates that the stop has four ranks. Mixture indicates the composition.
Nachthorn Night Horn
Cor de Nuit
Corno de Nacht


Flute wide-scaled flute with a relatively small mouth, produces a soft, but penetrating sound; occurring at 8′ and 4′ pitch, and also at 2′ pitch at pedal
Nasard Nasat
Flute Flute mutation stop of 2+23′ (sounding a twelfth above written pitch)
Nason Flute Flute Flute stop with stopped pipes. Usually 4′ pitch in which the twelfth is often prominent
None Flute A rare mutation stop of 8/9', reinforcing the 8' harmonic series. (sounds a twenty-third above written pitch)
Oboe Hautbois


Reed 8' reed stop used as both a solo stop and a chorus reed.
Octave Oktav


Principal A 4′ Principal. "Prestant" often indicates ranks that have pipes mounted in the front of the organ case.[3]
Octavin Flute 2' harmonic flute
Ophicleide Ophikleid Reed powerful reed stop, much like the Bombarde or Trombone; normally a 16′ or 32′ pedal reed; unusually an 8′ or 16′ on the manuals
Orchestral Oboe Reed a different stop from Oboe; intended to imitate the orchestral instrument; of smaller scale than the non-imitative oboe
Piccolo Flute 2′ or 1' flute
Quarte Flute 2′ flute on 17th and 18th century French organs; short for Quarte de nasard, sounding an interval of a fourth above the nasard stop
Quint Flute a resultant mutation stop, 5 1/3' on the manuals reinforcing the 16' harmonic series or 10 2/3' in the pedal reinforcing the 32' harmonic series.
Quintadena Quintaton Flute Flue stop of 4′, 8′, or 16′ foot pitch with stopped pipes and a flute tone in which the twelfth is prominent
Regal Reed a reed stop with fractional-length resonators; produces a buzzy sound with low fundamental frequency.
Salicional Principal/String hybrid An 8′ string stop, softer in tone than the Gamba
Scharf Cymbale Principal A high-pitched mixture stop
Sesquialtera Flute Comprises ranks at 223' and 135'
Sifflöte Sifflet Flute 1′ flute
Spitz Flute Spitzflöte

Spire Flute

Flute/String hybrid 4' or 2' flute with metal pipes tapered to a point at the top; similar tone as Gemshorn
Suabe Flute Flute Flute stop of 4′ pitch or 8′ pitch with a bright, clear tone.
Super Octave Doublette
Principal the manual 2′ Principal or Diapason; its name merely signifies that it is above (i.e. "super") the 4′ Octave.
Tibia Clausa Tibia Flute a large-scale, stopped wood flute pipe, usually with a leathered lip; performs same function in a theatre pipe organ as a principal in a classical organ.
Tierce Seventeenth
Flute mutation stop pitched 1+35′, supporting the 8′ harmonic series
Trichterregal Reed an 8-ft reed stop on a pipe organ with funnel-shaped resonators.[4][5] A trichterregal was used by Schnitger in the Schnitger organ that he built for St. James's Church, Hamburg.
Trombone Posaune
Reed Chorus reed simulating the trombone; most commonly in the pedal at 16′ or 32′ pitch; similar tone as Bombarde or Ophicleide
Trompette en Chamade Chamadetrompet Reed Solo trumpet laid horizontally; can often be heard over full organ.
Trompette Militaire Militair trompet Reed powerful solo reed of the trumpet-family, with a brassy, penetrating tone
Trumpet Trompete
Reed a loud chorus reed stop, generally a single rank, with inverted conical resonators.
Tuba Reed large-scale, high pressure, smooth solo reed usually 8′ in the manuals and 16′ (sometimes 32′) in the pedal. Tuba is Latin for Trumpet; it is not named after the orchestral tuba.
Twelfth Principal principal mutation stop of 2+23
Twenty-Second Kleine Principal
Principal a 1′ principal
Unda Maris Flute Latin for "wave of the sea"; a very soft rank tuned slightly sharp or flat. It is drawn with another soft rank to create an undulating effect. Occasionally built as a double-rank stop called Unda Maris II, which has both a normal-pitched and detuned rank.
Voix Céleste Vox Celeste String An 8′ string stop tuned slightly sharp or flat to create an undulating effect when combined with another string stop. Some variants contain both a normal-pitched and detuned rank. About this soundPlay 
Vox Angelica String A soft organ flue stop tuned slightly flat.
Vox Humana Voix humaine Reed fractional length regal supposedly intended to imitate the human voice
Waldflöte Woudfluit Flute A soft flute stop usually at 2' pitch but also at 8' or 4' pitch


  1. ^ Williams, Peter & Owen, Barbara (2001). "Organ stop". In Root, Deane L. (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Oxford University Press.
  2. ^ Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1906). "Fugara" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2018-08-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Audsley, George Ashdown (2002). Organ-Stops and Their Artistic Registration. Courier Dover Publications. p. 259. ISBN 0-486-42423-5.
  5. ^ "Trechterregal". Encyclopedia of Organ Stops. Edward L. Stauff.

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