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In Season 4, Episode 9 of House, M.D., Dr. House is seen playing a piano in one of the class rooms of the teaching hospital he works at. What possible reason would there be for a teaching hospital to have a piano in one of its classrooms?

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    Also in Season 3, there is Episode 15, Half Wit. tv.com/shows/house/half-wit-978066 House wheels a piano into the patients room, and has him play (as well as plays for him). So, at least one direct reference to House using a Piano in a diagnosis and cure is out there.
    – Bon Gart
    Jul 24, 2013 at 23:30

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I don't see anything surprising in that.

There are a lot of doctors (and students, nurses and patients) who love music and appreciate its therapeutic value (or just as a way to break the tedium of some long treatment or studying sessions).

I used to study and later work in a variety of university hospitals as a doctor (before settling on a pure teaching job). All these universities have a diverse selection of musical ensembles, and classrooms are available for rehearsing in the evening hours, which is why it makes sense to put a piano there. Most places have more than one.

In fact, one of my most revered teachers used to choose his staff (besides their medical qualifications) based on whether he could use them in his chamber music ensembles, which rehearsed in the classrooms when they weren't used for teaching.

And I don't think I would have survived medical school without making music several times a week.

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  • Must be more common than I thought. Jul 24, 2013 at 7:04
  • @DrewChapin There is also a chapel in the hospital. If I was looking for a piano in Princeton Plainsboro, I'd look there first (the chapel is not big enough to warrant an organ). House has been known to steal equipment whenever he needs it; and he has little reverence for religion so he would not have an issue with taking the piano from the chapel.
    – Flater
    Jul 3, 2017 at 10:21

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