Definition

1. Noun:
   • A graduated set of organ pipes of like tone quality: An organ stop is a component of a pipe organ that controls a specific set of pipes, all of which produce sound with a similar tonal character. Pulling or pushing the stop's control lever activates that particular set of pipes.

Usage

• The term "organ stop" refers specifically to the control mechanism and the unified set of pipes it governs. It is used when discussing the registration (selection of tonal colors) of a pipe organ.
• Example: "The organist pulled out the 8-foot Principal stop to add foundation to the sound."

Examples

• Noun:
  • The cathedral's organ has over fifty different organ stops, ranging from flutes to reeds.
  • For the quiet passage, she pushed in all the loud reed stops and used only a soft flute stop.

Advanced Usage

• "To pull out all the stops": This idiom, derived from organ terminology, means to make a maximum effort or use all available resources.
  • The company pulled out all the stops to launch the new product successfully.

Variants and Related Words

• Stop knob / Stop lever: The physical control (a knob or a lever) that is operated to activate the organ stop.
• Stoplist: A list of all the organ stops available on a particular instrument.
• Registration: The art of selecting and combining organ stops for a piece of music.

Synonyms

• Register: Often used interchangeably with "organ stop" in musical contexts to refer to a particular set of pipes and its controlling mechanism.

Related Terminology

• Rank: A complete set of pipes of one tone quality for all notes of the keyboard. An organ stop may control one or more ranks.
• Pipework: The collective term for the pipes of an organ, which are grouped and controlled by the stops.

Noun

1. a graduated set of organ pipes of like tone quality