Sherlock: 10 Best Music Compositions

9. The Game Is On

Series 1, "A Study in Pink" This composition could be called the second theme tune for the show, as it's repeated quite a bit, and no wonder - it's an absolutely brilliant piece of music. The first part - approximately the first minute in - is the music we've come to associate with Sherlock and John being on a case, creating an atmosphere of adventure. It's also become almost Sherlock's personal theme tune, as it's also the music that plays when he first introduces himself to John - "The name's Sherlock Holmes, and the address is 221B Baker Street" - and when he re-introduces himself, as it were, when he reveals himself to be alive in "The Empty Hearse." The second part is a bit gentler, but still full of movement, as we can almost hear the ticking of Sherlock's mind as his deductions of John fall into place. The last part is the most intense, with plucking strings adding urgency; it ends with sawing strings that epitomise impending danger, a perfect theme to up the tension in any scene, which is why it's used to even greater effect in "Which Bottle?" near the end of the episode. I'm assuming we can expect to hear "The Game Is On" for as long as the show runs, for, as Sherlock says in "His Last Vow," "The game is never over!" And aren't we glad of that!