As composers experimented to determine the best combination of instruments, common practice
eventually dictated using winds in pairs. Since the string section was emerging as the dominant
section of the orchestra, composers used winds to provide harmonic support and color contrast to
the string timbre. This led to the demise of the keyboard as harmonic support in the orchestra. Thus
the term Harmoniemusik, presumably depicting this practice, became the accepted name for an
ensemble of wind instruments. While ensembles of this nature were of varying sizes, the most
common consisted of eight players.