It has already been explained that the pitch of any pipe is proportional to its length. Most modern organs have a manual compass of five octaves, from the second C below middle C to the third C above; an open pipe sounding the low C is about 8 feet (2.5 metres) in speaking length (64 vibrations per second). The shortest pipe in the same rank, or stop, is thus about 3 inches (8 centimetres) long (2,048 vibrations per second). While large- and small-scale ranks often imitate the tones of flutes and bowed strings respectively, and are named accordingly, the most characteristic tone of the organ is produced by its diapason, or principal, stops. These are of medium scale (usually about 6 inches diameter at the 8-foot open pipe) and moderate harmonic development—i.e., neither particularly dull nor bright. Such a tone quality becomes boring if heard for a long time. Also, when greater power is required, there is a distinct limit to what can be done by adding more stops of unison pitch. From the earliest times, stops, especially the principals, were arranged in choruses, and the principal chorus is the very backbone of any organ.

A chorus consists of stops of roughly similar quality and power but at a variety of pitches. A unison principal is known as principal 8 foot because of its longest (8-foot) pipe, and the figure 8 appears on the stop knob or tablet (rocking tablets are often used in place of knobs with electric action) at the console to give an indication of its pitch. The first step toward a chorus is to add a stop sounding an octave above 8-foot ranks (i.e., at octave pitch), the largest pipe of which is therefore 4 feet long. Next comes a 2-foot stop, while the suboctave pitch is represented by a 16-foot stop. The top pipe of a 2-foot stop has a speaking length of only three-quarters of an inch, and this is about the practical upper limit. Nevertheless, an organ with nothing higher in pitch than a 2-foot stop would be lacking in brilliance, especially in the lower parts of the compass.

From the earliest times, organs have, therefore, been supplied with what are known generically as mixture stops, which have several high-pitched pipes to each note. But, since, for example, a 1-foot rank could not be carried right up to the top note, it breaks back an octave at some convenient point in the compass. Ranks pitched even higher will break back more than once. Thus, in the bass, a mixture adds definition to the slow-speaking, low-pitched pipes; in the treble, where the small pipes tend to be lacking in power, it duplicates the unison and octave ranks. A mixture, therefore, helps to maintain a balance of power between bass and treble, while adding harmonious power of a kind that is completely peculiar to the organ and can be produced in no other way.

Mixture stops also contain ranks sounding at pitches other than in octaves with the 8-foot principal. In chorus mixtures these sound at a fifth above the unison (e.g., G above C), although ranks sounding at a third above and even at a flat seventh (e.g., E and B♭ above C) and their respective octaves are also found; but these are best restricted to mixtures intended for somewhat special effects. The theoretical justification for these quint- (fifth) and third-sounding ranks is that they reinforce the natural upper partials of the harmonic series, but they were included in organs long before this was understood. The fact is that they were found to sound well, and large organs without mixtures and off-unison ranks have been generally unsuccessful. The colourfulness and vitality of organ music depend largely upon copious, artistically voiced mixtures.

Off-unison ranks are also available as separate stops, mostly sounding at an interval of a 12th (an octave and a fifth; 2 2/3 feet), 17th (two octaves and a third; 1 3/5 feet), or 19th (two octaves and a fifth; 1 1/3 feet) above the unison. These are used melodically to colour the unison and octave stops, and they may be wide or narrow in scale. Such stops are known as mutation stops, as opposed to the mixtures, or chorus stops. Their use is essential for the historically (and therefore artistically) correct performance of organ music written before 1800 and of much modern music as well. After a period of disuse throughout the 19th century, they are again included in all but the smallest modern organs.