The Nokia tune is a phrase from a composition for solo guitar, Gran Vals, composed in 1902 by the Spanish people classical guitarist and composer Francisco Tárrega.
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.
The Nokia tune first appeared on the Nokia 2010 released in 1994, under the name ringtone Type 5, showing that it was just one of the normal ringtones. The tune's original name varied in the ringtone list, listed as Type 13 on some phones, or Type 8 on others. In December 1997 with the introduction of the Nokia 6110, ringtones were each given a specific name, and the tune received the name "Grande valse". Some later Nokia phones (e.g. some 3310s) still used Type 7 as the name of the Nokia tune. In 1998, "Grande valse" was renamed to "Nokia tune" and effectively became Nokia's flagship ringtone.
The Nokia N9 in late 2011 introduced a new version, which was created by in-house composer Henry Daw. This version uses a marimba for its melody, and was intended to be genre-neutral. The same year, a contest titled Nokia Tune Remake was held on the crowdsourcing website Audiodraft. The winning entry was a dubstep version, which was shipped on many Nokia phones from 2012 to 2013 alongside the regular Nokia tune. Another updated version of the Nokia tune was introduced in 2013, built on the same principles as the 2011 version. In 2018, a new version was introduced on HMD Global's Nokia 1 and 7 Plus, and remains in use. This was also created by Henry Daw; it was intended to be an evolution of the 2013 version while retaining similar instrumentation.
Other versions have been produced for specific models. These include a slow piano version for the Nokia 8800 by Ryuichi Sakamoto, and a slow guitar version for the Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition by Brian Eno.
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.
The tune has been registered by Nokia as a sound trademark in some countries. United States Patent and Trademark Office
Dutch cabaret duo Woe & van der Laan had a 2017 comedy show Pesetas, revolving around Francisco Tárrega and how an excerpt of his Gran Vals became known as of the Nokia Tune.
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.
The American rock band Green Day included the Nokia tune ringtone on demo song of "Homecoming (Nobody Likes You)". The song was included for 20th anniversary of album "American Idiot".
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.
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