Mixture (music)

Mixture (music)

A mixture is an organ stop, usually of principal tone quality, that contains multiple ranks of pipes. It is designed to be drawn with a combination of stops that forms a complete chorus (for example, principals of 8′, 4′, and 2′ pitches). The mixture sounds the upper harmonics of each note of the keyboard. The individual pitches in the mixture are not perceived by the listener; rather, they reinforce the fundamental pitches of the chorus, adding volume and brilliance to the sound. Historically, the mixture descends from the medieval Blockwerk concept, an organ in which there were no stops and all the ranks sounded simultaneously.

Variables affecting tone color

In addition to the standard concerns of voicing flue pipes, Most mixture stops include only octave and fifth pitch levels; several historical mixtures include thirds, and some modern organs feature mixtures with other pitches such as sevenths and ninths.

The number of ranks per note in a mixture commonly increases as one ascends the compass of the keyboard. A mixture exhibiting this trait is referred to as progressive.

The frequency at which the various ranks in a mixture drop back by an interval (or break) as one ascends the compass determines to a great extent how the mixture sounds. If a mixture does not break, it is referred to as a harmonic mixture. Aristide Cavaillé-Coll built many examples of mixture stops labelled "Plein jeux harmonique".


Mixture breaks

The composition of pitches in a mixture may change (or break) several times across the compass of the keyboard. The "breaks" of a mixture involve the dropping out of a higher pitch at a given point within the keyboard's compass, and/or the addition of a lower pitch on the succeeding note.

For example, here is the break structure of a typical Great Fourniture IV:

Note     Pitches on that note and above

C1                                 1’1/3 - 1’ - 2/3’ - 1/2’
C13                           2’ - 1’1/3 - 1’ - 2/3’
C25                   2’2/3 - 2’ - 1’1/3 - 1’
C37              4’ - 2’2/3 - 2’ - 1’1/3
C49      5’1/3 - 4’ - 2’2/3 - 2’


             C           C           C           C           C           C                    
             1           2           3           4           5           6                    
C     1/16’ |------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------/|  1 - C     1/16’  
B           |            |           |           |           |          / |  1 - B            
A#          |            |           |           |           |         /  |  1 - A#           
A           |            |           |           |           |        /   |  1 - A            
G#          |            |           |           |           |       /    |  1 - G#           
G     1/12’ |------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------/----/|  2 - G     1/12’  
F#          |            |           |           |          /|     /    / |  3 - F#           
F           |            |           |           |         / |    /    /  |  3 - F            
E     1/10’ |            |           |           |        /  |   /    /   |  3 - E     1/10’  
D#          |            |           |           |       /   |  /    /    |  3 - D#           
D           |            |           |           |      /    | /    /     |  3 - D            
C#          |            |           |           |     /     |/    /      |  3 - C#           
C     1/8’  |------------+-----------+-----------+----/------/----/------/|  4 - C     1/8’   
B           |            |           |          /|   /      /|   /      / |  5 - B            
A#          |            |           |         / |  /      / |  /      /  |  5 - A#           
A           |            |           |        /  | /      /  | /      /   |  5 - A            
G#          |            |           |       /   |/      /   |/      /    |  5 - G#           
G     1/6’  |------------+-----------+------/----/------/----/------/----/|  6 - G     1/6’   
F#          |            |          /|     /    /|     /    /|     /    / |  7 - F#           
F           |            |         / |    /    / |    /    / |    /    /  |  7 - F            
E     1/5’  |            |        /  |   /    /  |   /    /  |   /    /   |  7 - E     1/5’   
D#          |            |       /   |  /    /   |  /    /   |  /    /    |  7 - D#           
D           |            |      /    | /    /    | /    /    | /    /     |  7 - D            
C#          |            |     /     |/    /     |/    /     |/    /      |  7 - C#           
C     1/4’  |------------+----/------/----/------/----/------/----/-------|  7 - C     1/4’   
B           |           /|   /      /|   /      /|   /      /|   /        |  8 - B            
A#          |          / |  /      / |  /      / |  /      / |  /         |  8 - A#           
A           |         /  | /      /  | /      /  | /      /  | /          |  8 - A            
G#          |        /   |/      /   |/      /   |/      /   |/           |  8 - G#           
G     1/3’  |-------/----/------/----/------/----/------/----/------------|  8 - G     1/3’   
F#          |      /    /|     /    /|     /    /|     /     |            |  7 - F#           
F           |     /    / |    /    / |    /    / |    /      |            |  7 - F            
E     2/5’  |    /    /  |   /    /  |   /    /  |   /       |            |  7 - E     2/5’   
D#          |   /    /   |  /    /   |  /    /   |  /        |            |  7 - D#           
D           |  /    /    | /    /    | /    /    | /         |            |  7 - D            
C#          | /    /     |/    /     |/    /     |/          |            |  7 - C#           
C     1/2’  |/----/------/----/------/----/------/-----------+------------|  7 - C     1/2’   
B           |    /      /|   /      /|   /       |           |            |  5 - B            
A#          |   /      / |  /      / |  /        |           |            |  5 - A#           
A           |  /      /  | /      /  | /         |           |            |  5 - A            
G#          | /      /   |/      /   |/          |           |            |  5 - G#           
G     2/3’  |/------/----/------/----/-----------+-----------+------------|  5 - G     2/3’   
F#          |      /    /|     /     |           |           |            |  3 - F#           
F           |     /    / |    /      |           |           |            |  3 - F            
E     4/5’  |    /    /  |   /       |           |           |            |  3 - E     4/5’   
D#          |   /    /   |  /        |           |           |            |  3 - D#           
D           |  /    /    | /         |           |           |            |  3 - D            
C#          | /    /     |/          |           |           |            |  3 - C#           
C     1’    |/----/------/-----------+-----------+-----------+------------|  3 - C     1’     
B           |    /       |           |           |           |            |  1 - B            
A#          |   /        |           |           |           |            |  1 - A#           
A           |  /         |           |           |           |            |  1 - A            
G#          | /          |           |           |           |            |  1 - G#           
G     1’1/3 |/-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------|  1 - G     1’1/3  
             C           C           C           C           C           C                    
             1           2           3           4           5           6

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mixture (disambiguation) — Mixture may mean: In chemistry: mixture, a combination of two or more chemicals, in which the chemicals retain their identity. In music: mixture (music), a special kind of pipe organ stop which has several pipes to each note In probability and… …   Wikipedia

  • Music of Nicaragua — Topics [[]] Palo de Mayo Reggaeton Cumbia Pop Rock Marimba music Pop Folklorico Merengue …   Wikipedia

  • Music of Cuba — General topics Related articles Genres Batá and yuka Bolero Chachachá Changui Charanga …   Wikipedia

  • Music of Greece — General topics Ancient Byzantine Néo kýma Polyphonic song Genres Entehno …   Wikipedia

  • Music of Nigeria — Music of Nigeria: Topics Hausa Igbo Yoruba Apala Fuji Jùjú Afrobeat Afro juju …   Wikipedia

  • Music of the Sun — Studio album by Rihanna Released August 26, 2005&# …   Wikipedia

  • Mixture Elecstro — EP par Stromae Sortie 2009 Enregistrement 2009 Durée 69:35 Genre Pop Électronique Labe …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Music radio — is a radio format in which music is the main broadcast content. After television replaced old time radio s dramatic content, music formats became dominant in many countries. Radio drama and comedy continue, often on public radio. Music drives… …   Wikipedia

  • Music of Louisiana — Music of the United States AK AL AR AS AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA GU HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA …   Wikipedia

  • Music of Hawaii — Music of the United States AK AL AR AS AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA GU HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”