Piano Guidance
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Is Sherlock good at violin?

In A Study in Scarlet, Dr. Watson describes Holmes's skill on the violin as “very remarkable, but as eccentric as all his other accomplishments. That he could play pieces, and difficult pieces, I knew well, because at my request he has played me some of Mendelssohn's Lieder and other favourites.”

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Sherlock Holmes and classical music: 10 musical facts about the great detective

Sherlock Holmes was a Stradivarius-playing violinist who loved opera. Here are 10 musical facts as told by Holmes's sidekick, Dr. Watson. Listen to Tim Lihoreau at 6am for his Friday Five a Day: five pieces with a Holmesian theme...

1 A night at the opera

2 A preference for German music

In The Red-Headed League, Holmes tells Watson he prefers German music to French or Italian. Holmes attends a concert of German works given by Pablo de Sarasate (pictured) at St. James’s Hall. “It is introspective, and I want to instrospect.” Holmes says.

3 A remarkable violinist

In A Study in Scarlet, Dr. Watson describes Holmes’s skill on the violin as “very remarkable, but as eccentric as all his other accomplishments. That he could play pieces, and difficult pieces, I knew well, because at my request he has played me some of Mendelssohn’s Lieder and other favourites.”

4 A record collector

5 A fan of Paganini…

In The Adventure of the Cardboard Box, Dr. Watson reports how, over a bottle of claret, Holmes told “anecdote after anecdote” about the extraordinary violin virtuoso, Paganini.

6 … and his female counterpart

In A Study in Scarlet, Holmes attends a concert performed by the Hallé Orchestra, featuring the Austrian violinist Wilhelmine “Wilma” Norman-Neruda, who was known as 'the female Paganini'. “It was magnificent,” Holmes later tells Watson. A few months after the publication of A Study in Scarlet, Wilma Norman-Neruda married the conductor Charles Hallé.

7 The last word on Lassus

In The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans, Holmes is said to be composing a monograph about the polyphonic motets of the Dutch Renaissance composer, Lassus. Watson writes that the book has “since been printed for private circulation, and is said by experts to be the last word on the subject.”

8 Sherlock’s Strad

Sherlock Holmes purchased his own Stradivarius, which was worth at least 500 guineas, for 45 shillings at a pawnbroker’s shop in London's Tottenham Court Road.

9 Outwitted by a diva

10 A box for Les Huguenots

Having solved the case of The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes takes a box for the grand French opera, Les Huguenots by Meyerbeer. In the story it is performed by the De Reszkes siblings. The singers Jean, Edouard (pictured), and Josephine de Reszke actually appeared together in productions of Les Huguenots in London and New York.

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What age should a child start piano?

The best age to start piano lessons is typically between the ages of 6 and 9-years-old. While older students may have an easier time learning to play, students as young as 6-years-old can also learn since the keys of the piano are easy to operate.

Many children are drawn to the piano from a young age. It’s easy to play, fun to explore, and depending on whether you have a piano vs a keyboard, it can make a lot of different sounds! All fun aside, many parents often wonder what age their child should start piano lessons, especially if they want their kid to get good. At School of Rock, our instructors teach thousands of students how to play the piano every day, and know a thing or two about determining when a student is ready. And while it’s true students of almost any age can learn to play piano, the best age to learn depends on factors unique to each student.

What is the best age to Learn TO play piano?

The best age to start piano lessons is typically between the ages of 6 and 9-years-old. While older students may have an easier time learning to play, students as young as 6-years-old can also learn since the keys of the piano are easy to operate. Depending on the student, even very young children under the age of five can begin to explore the piano. After all, Mozart famously started to play piano at 3-years-old!

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