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Some other quintets in classical music are the wind quintet, usually consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn; the brass quintet, consisting of two trumpets, one horn, a trombone and a tuba; and the reed quintet, consisting of an oboe, a soprano clarinet, a saxophone, a bass clarinet, and a bassoon.
Classical chamber ensembles of six (sextet), seven (septet), or eight musicians (octet) are fairly common; use of latinate terms for larger groups is rare, except for the nonet (nine musicians).
There is a vast body of music written for string quartets, as it is seen as an important genre in classical music.
A woodwind quartet usually features a flute, an oboe, a clarinet and a bassoon.
In the string family, there are sections of violins (I and II), violas, cellos (often eight), and basses (often from six to eight).


A symphony orchestra is divided into families of instruments.A sinfonietta usually denotes a somewhat smaller orchestra (though still not a chamber orchestra).Larger orchestras are called symphony orchestras (see below) or philharmonic orchestras.Terms such as "piano quintet" or "clarinet quintet" frequently refer to a string quartet plus a fifth instrument.Mozart's Clarinet Quintet is similarly a piece written for an ensemble consisting of two violins, a viola, a cello and a clarinet, the last being the exceptional addition to a "normal" string quartet.