The Nokia tune is a phrase from a composition for solo guitar, Gran Vals, composed in 1902 by the Spanish classical guitarist and composer Francisco Tárrega.[1] It has been associated with Finnish corporation Nokia since the 1990s, becoming the first identifiable musical ringtone on a mobile phone; Nokia selected an excerpt to be used as its default ringtone.[2]
While the ringtone initially shipped as monophonic, this was eventually replaced with polyphonic and audio versions, as a result of evolving mobile technology. It is written in the key of A major.
History
In 1992, Nokia used a 1989 rendition of Francisco Tárrega's Gran Vals by Czech guitarist Lubomír Brabec as the background music in a commercial for the Nokia 1011.[3][4] The excerpt of Gran Vals used includes the phrase that would later be used for the Nokia tune ringtone.[5] In 1993 Anssi Vanjoki, then-executive vice president of Nokia, showed the entirety of Gran Vals to Lauri Kivinen (then-head of corporate communications) and together they selected the excerpt that became "Nokia tune".[6][7] The excerpt is taken from measures (bars) 13–16 of the piece.
The Nokia tune first appeared on the Nokia 2110 released in 1994, under the name ringtone Type 5, showing that it was just one of the normal ringtones.
Legacy
In December 1999, Jimmy Cauty, formerly of The KLF, and Guy Pratt released the mobile telephone-themed novelty-pop record "I Wanna 1-2-1 With You" under the name Solid Gold Chartbusters which heavily samples the theme.[16] It was released as competition for the UK Christmas number one single but only got to number 62.[17] The release of this song prevented the Super Furry Animals from releasing their song "Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)" from the album Guerrilla as a single, on the grounds that it was also based on a mobile phone theme.[18][19]
The tune was prominently featured in a recurring sketch on the British hidden camera/practical joke reality television series Trigger Happy TV.
In 2009, it was reported that the tune was heard worldwide an estimated 1.8 billion times per day, about 20,000 times per second.[20]
Use in popular music
Canadian pianist Marc-André Hamelin wrote a short composition entitled Valse Irritation d'après Nokia based on the tune.[23]
The Indonesian rock band The Changcuters included the segment of the Nokia tune on their song "Parampampam". The song was included on their 2011 album Tugas Akhir and was also featured on the Nokia X2-01 for the Indonesian market.[24]
The American rock band Green Day included the Nokia tune in the demo of their song "Homecoming (Nobody Likes You)". The song was included on the 20th anniversary edition of the American Idiot album.
Canadian rapper Drake sampled the ringtone on his 2025 track "Nokia", on $ome $exy $ongs 4 U; his collaborative album with fellow Canadian singer PartyNextDoor.
External links
References
- Classical Guitar Playing: Grade Seven (LCM) Registry Publications Ltd, 2002^
- Melena Z. Ryzik. The Nokia Fugue in G Major The New York Times, 10 July 2005, retrieved 13 April 2008^
- VHS Video vault. Nokia ad - Flowers 2018-11-12, retrieved 2026-02-13^