- Classical guitarist Alexandra Whittingham posted a video to TikTok
- She plays 'Gran Vals' by Francisco Tarrega - the piece on which the tone is based
It's one of the most famous - and arguably irritating - ringtones in phone history.
And now a TikToker has shed light on the origin of the classic 'Nokia tone'.
Classical guitarist Alexandra Whittingham posted a video playing 'Gran Vals' by Francisco Tarrega - the piece on which the ringtone is based.
'I wont rest until this piece gets the recognition it deserves,' she joked.
Viewers have been left in amazement at the clip, with one replying: 'Is someone going to answer the guitar or what?'
Ms Whittingham is a professional guitarist who studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and regularly posts videos to her TikTok.
In a recent video, Ms Whittingham took to her guitar to show her fans where the original Nokia ringtone came from.
The first 15 seconds or so of the piece sound like a typical waltz.
However, towards the end of the clip, the famous Nokia tone makes an appearance, before Ms Whittingham ends the video with a chuckle at the camera.
Thousands of viewers took to the comments to express their delight at the video.
'It sounds like a Pixar movie sponsored by Nokia,' one user wrote.
Another quipped: 'Sir, thy Nokia doth ring.'
And one joked: 'But now when I hear that I expect Dom Joly to jump out and scream "HELLO, YEAH, IM IN THE LIBRARY" at the top of his voice.'
Gran Vals is a piece of solo guitar music written by Francisco Tarrega in 1902.
According to Classical FM, a big selling point for using the snippet was that the composer was long dead.
'Nokia needed a soundbite free of expensive copyright complications,' it explained.
'European law makes music available to the public 70 years after the composer’s death. Tarrega, who died 84 years earlier, was the perfect choice.'
The original, tinny ringtone was first featured in an advert for the Nokia 1011 back in 1992.
But since then, it has been through several iterations.
For example, a version released in 2004 features a real piano, while one released in 2008 features an extended guitar-based tune.
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