An English horn is a woodwind instrument that looks like an oboe's longer, deeper-voiced cousin. It produces a rich, melancholy sound that composers love for expressing sadness, longing, or mystery. Despite its name, the English horn isn't English and it isn't a horn: it's a double-reed instrument related to the oboe family.

The English horn stands about three feet tall, making it noticeably larger than an oboe. Its distinctive bulb-shaped bell at the bottom and bent metal tube at the top (called a bocal) give it a unique appearance in the orchestra. When you hear it, the sound is darker and more haunting than an oboe's bright, penetrating tone.

Composers throughout history have used the English horn to create some of music's most memorable moments. Dvořák gave it the famous solo in the second movement of his New World Symphony, a melody so beautiful it makes audiences hold their breath. The instrument excels at playing solos that sound wistful or nostalgic, though it can also blend beautifully with other instruments in orchestral passages.

Like the oboe, playing the English horn requires skill in managing breath control and embouchure (how you shape your mouth around the reed). The instrument sits in the middle range between higher woodwinds like flutes and lower ones like bassoons.