Woman reveals where the original Nokia ringtone came from and people are shocked it's that old

Remember the sound of the original Nokia ringtone?

No, me neither, because it's been that long, but thankfully, a TikToker has played it on her guitar to remind us all and take us back into the early 2000s, when the world was a simpler place - at an age where you weren't having to worry about paying electricity bills, the latest Apple updates, or what the likes of Elon Musk are tweeting.

And not only that, but she's revealed where the iconic ringtone actually first originated from. Prepare to feel transported back in time.

Taking to her page in October last year, Alexandra Whittingham whipped her guitar out and sat down to play the iconic ringtone.

During the video, Alexandra reveals not only will she be playing the tune on her guitar, but she'll also reveal where the original ringtone actually came from.

And it turns out the ringtone has quite the history.

The Nokia tune (also called ‘Grande Valse’) is from a solo guitar piece by Francisco Tárrega, called Gran Vals (1902).

The ringtone isn’t Tárrega’s whole piece, rather a brief few notes that anyone that grew up during the time of the Nokia brick phone’s would recognize.

And Whittingham's playing of the tune sparked quite the nostalgia among followers.

"The Nokia ringtone is so iconic that to me it feels so disconnected to the original piece," one TikTok user commented.

"I’m watching my phone and just checked my pocket," joked another user.

"[Back] when Nokia was associated with quality products thanks for sharing this masterpiece,” a user added.

“I learned classical guitar since I was eight, played Tarrega and I was today years old when I found out about this,” said another.

“Wow this is so beautiful!!! and I am a bit sad they ruined the original track because now everybody says that the Nokia piece does not fit in,” another user commented.

Surprisingly, one of the biggest selling points for using Tárrega’s music was that the artist was dead, according to a report by Classic FM.

“Nokia needed a soundbite free of expensive copyright complications, and European law makes music available to the public 70 years after the composer’s death. Tárrega, who died 84 years earlier, was the perfect choice," the report said.

I suppose that is one way to avoid paying for permission to use someone else’s music.

The ringtone was first heard in a 1992 advert for the Nokia 1011 phone, and seven years later, ‘Grande Valse’ was renamed as the Nokia tune and cemented itself in technology history.