What does quintet mean?
Word: Quintet
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Quintet means a group of five musicians or singers, or a piece of music written for them.
How do you spell quintet?
Syllables: quin - tet
Tricky part: The last beat is spelt with an e. Pupils who are unsure of the vowel write quintat.
Watch out for: quintat, kwintet
Memory tip: Duet is another small music group: its final et is the et you need here.
Quintet in a sentence
Example 1: A jazz quintet played on the lawn at my cousin's wedding.
Example 2: Our school quintet won first prize at the music festival.
Example 3: The radio station played a quintet by Mozart during breakfast.
Fun Fact
Franz Schubert was only 22 when he wrote his Trout Quintet, which unusually uses a double bass in place of a second violin.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
qu_n_et
a) i, d
b) a, t
c) i, t
d) e, t
Show answer
c) i, t. The vowel is the one in pin, and a hard consonant starts the second beat.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
quinntet
a) n
b) u
c) i
d) t
Show answer
a) n. Only one n sits between the vowel and the t.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
A violin, a viola, a cello, a flute and a piano formed the tqntuie that opened the show.
a) quietness
b) quartet
c) quintet
d) quotient
Show answer
c) quintet. Count the players, then check the letters: no r, a, o or s.
Spell-o-Spell
Three words in the list are spelt correctly and one is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word.
1. ensemble 2. simphony 3. quintet 4. orchestra
a) a small group of musicians who play together
b) a set of five performers
c) a large group of players led by a conductor
d) a long piece of music for many players
Show answer
d) a long piece of music for many players. Symphony starts with sy, not si.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which instruments could make up a string quintet?
a) two violins, two violas and a cello
b) a violin, a cello and a piano
c) two violins, a viola and a cello
d) six violins and a double bass
Show answer
a) two violins, two violas and a cello
2. Two sisters, their mother and two cousins sing together. One cousin moves away and nobody replaces her. What is the group now?
a) a duet
b) a sextet
c) a trio
d) a quartet
Show answer
d) a quartet
