English horn for kids: how it works and what to hear

The English horn is a large, low oboe. It has a double reed, a bent metal tube at the top, and a bell shaped like a pear at the bottom. It plays five notes lower than the oboe, and its sound is dark and sad. It is not English, and it is not a horn.

Quick facts

• Family: woodwinds
• Reed: a double reed, wider than the oboe’s
• Length: about two and a half feet, a little longer than an oboe
• Made of: dark, hard wood
• Other name: cor anglais, which is French for “English horn”
• In an orchestra: one, played by a member of the oboe section

How it works

The player blows through two thin blades of cane tied together. The blades buzz against each other, and the air inside the tube starts to vibrate. Read the oboe for kids for how a double reed works.

Three things set the English horn apart from the oboe.

The bocal. The reed does not go straight into the wood. It fits on a short, bent metal tube called a bocal. The bend brings the reed to the player’s mouth at a good angle.

The longer tube. A longer tube gives lower notes. The lowest note of the English horn is the E below middle C.

The pear-shaped bell. The bell of an oboe flares open. The bell of an English horn swells out and then closes in again. That shape helps to give the sound its covered, far-off color.

Oboe and English horn side by side

	Oboe	English horn
Size	About two feet	About two and a half feet
Top	The reed goes into the wood	The reed sits on a bent metal bocal
Bell	Flared	Pear-shaped
Notes	Higher	Five notes lower
Sound	Bright and clear, with an edge	Dark, round, and sad
Job	Tunes, and the tuning note for the orchestra	Slow, lonely solos

The fingerings are the same on both. An oboe player can pick up an English horn and play it. The notes come out lower than the ones on the page, so the English horn is a transposing instrument. Read transposing instruments explained.

Where the name comes from

No one is sure. Two ideas are common.

The angle idea. Early English horns were curved or bent in the middle. The French word for “angled” sounds close to the French word for “English,” and the two may have been mixed up.

The angel idea. In old German, one word meant both “of the angels” and “English.” The curved instrument looked like the horns that angels play in old paintings, so “angels’ horn” may have turned into “English horn.”

In Britain, players use the French name, cor anglais.

Its job in the orchestra

Composers save the English horn for special moments. When the music turns slow, lonely, or homesick, it often gets the tune. It also plays calm outdoor scenes, with shepherds and wide fields.

It sits at the end of the row of oboes. The player may switch between the oboe and the English horn within one concert.

Pieces to hear

Symphony No. 9, second movement, by Dvořák. Among the best-known English horn solos. Soft brass chords open the movement, and then the slow tune begins. Read the New World Symphony guide.

William Tell Overture, third scene, by Rossini. The storm ends, and the English horn plays a herder’s tune while a flute dances around it. Read the William Tell Overture guide.

The Swan of Tuonela, by Sibelius. The English horn is the swan, gliding on a dark river. It sings for almost the whole piece. Read Sibelius for kids.

Symphonie fantastique, third movement, by Berlioz. An English horn on stage and an oboe hidden offstage call back and forth. They are two shepherds on two hillsides. At the end, the English horn calls again, and only far-off thunder answers. Read Berlioz for kids.

Concierto de Aranjuez, second movement, by Rodrigo. The English horn plays the famous slow tune first, over a strumming guitar.

Its relatives

The oboe family comes in several sizes. Four of them, from high to low, are the oboe, the oboe d’amore, the English horn, and the bass oboe. The oboe and the English horn are the two you will see at most concerts. Read woodwind instruments for kids.

Starting to play

No one starts on the English horn. A student learns the oboe first, often from about ten to twelve. An oboe player who has a steady sound can add the English horn later, since the fingerings match.

An English horn costs a good deal, and few families buy one. School programs and youth orchestras often own one and lend it to an oboe player.

Things to do together

Oboe or English horn? Play an oboe solo and an English horn solo. Listen for which one is lower and darker.

Draw the swan. Play The Swan of Tuonela. Draw the river and the swan while the solo plays.

Find it on stage. In a concert video, look at the end of the oboe row for the instrument with the round bell.

Raise a hand. In the slow movement of the New World Symphony, raise a hand each time the English horn takes the tune.

Print and play

Print the instrument families listening chart. Read oboe vs. clarinet: how to tell them apart and the bassoon for kids.