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In the late 1990s and early 2000s, one sound dominated cafes, airports, malls, and even boardrooms. If a mobile phone rang, it was almost guaranteed to be playing one particular, seemingly inescapable melody. Long before you could use pop songs as your ringtone, you were stuck with whatever factory-loaded ringtones came with your phone, and one iconic option from Nokia became instantly recognizable across the world.

Much like other modern technologies that are older than you think , this legendary bit of music has surprisingly old roots. It was written nearly a century before it ever showed up on cell phones. Spanish composer Francisco Tárrega wrote a piece for solo classical guitar called "Gran Vals" in 1902. Buried within this enchanting waltz, 13 bars in, is the four-bar phrase that became Nokia's famous ringtone. Tárrega's piece is also said to have been inspired by a short phrase in Frédéric Chopin's "Grande Valse Brillante" for piano.…