A
quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a
string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit. In
classical instrumental music, any additional instrument (such as a
piano,
clarinet,
oboe, etc.) joined to the usual
string quartet (two
violins, a
viola, and a
cello), gives the resulting ensemble its name, such as "
piano quintet", "clarinet quintet", etc. A piece of music written for such a group is similarly named.