An interval signal, or tuning signal, is a characteristic sound or musical phrase used in

international broadcasting International broadcasting, in a limited extent, began during World War I, when German and British stations broadcast press communiqués using Morse code. With the severing of Germany's undersea cables, the wireless telegraph station in Nauen was ...

numbers station A numbers station is a shortwave radio station characterized by broadcasts of formatted numbers, which are believed to be addressed to intelligence officers operating in foreign countries. Most identified stations use speech synthesis to vocal ...

s, and by some domestic broadcasters, played before commencement or during breaks in transmission, but most commonly between programmes in different languages. It serves several purposes: * It helps a listener using a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

with an

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...

tuner to find the correct frequency. * It informs other stations that the frequency is in use. * It serves as a station identifier even if the language used in the subsequent broadcast is not one the listener understands. The practise began in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s and was carried over into shortwave broadcasts. The use of interval signals has declined with the advent of digital tuning systems, but has not vanished. Interval signals were not required on commercial channels in the United States, where

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s were used as identification.

List of interval signals by station

Radiodifusión Argentina al Exterior RAE Argentina al Mundo ( en, RAE Argentina to the World), previously known as Radiodifusión Argentina al Exterior or RAE, is Argentina's state-owned international broadcaster, which uses shortwave, satellite and the Internet. History RAE was ...

: First eight notes of " Mi Buenos Aires querido" by

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inte ...

, followed by people saying the station's name in eight languages. *

Radio Belarus Radio Belarus ( Belarusian: ''Радыё "Беларусь"'') was the official international broadcasting station of Belarus. The station has ceased broadcasting on shortwave and mediumwave as of 1 April 2016. History Radio Belarus has broadc ...

: "Motherland, my dear" () by and Ales Bachyla. * : :*

China National Radio China National Radio (CNR; ; pronunciation: ) is the national radio network of China, headquartered in Beijing. History The infrastructure began with a transmitter from Moscow to set up its first station in Yan'an (延安). It used the call ...

and

China Radio International China Radio International (CRI) is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of China. It is currently headquartered in the Babaoshan area of Beijing's Shijingshan District. It was founded on December 3, 1941, as Radio Peking. It late ...

: Chime version of

March of the Volunteers The "March of the Volunteers" (), originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", has been the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike previous Chinese state anthems, it was ...

(). :*

Voice of the Strait Voice of the Strait (), Founded on August 24, 1958. the predecessor is the PLA Fujian Front Line Broadcasting Station (), established in Yuandang Street No. 15, Gulou District, Fuzhou city, Fujian province, People's Republic of China. is compose ...

News Radio: Bell version of "

Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention The Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention () is a military doctrine that was issued in 1928 by Mao Zedong and his associates for the Chinese Red Army, who were then fighting against the Kuomintang. The contents vary slightly ...

" (). *

Radio Habana Cuba Radio Havana Cuba ( es, Radio Habana Cuba, RHC) is the official government-run international broadcasting station of Cuba. It can be heard in many parts of the world including the United States on shortwave frequencies. Radio Havana, along with ...

: Melody of "March of the 26th of July" () by Agustín Díaz Cartaya. *

DR P1 DR P1 – in Denmark normally referred to as simply P1 – is a Danish radio station operated by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. P1 has evolved into a pure voice channel with a focus on news, documentaries, political debates, education, gener ...

: " Drømte mig en drøm i nat", played on xylophone. *

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

: Electronic-disco, culminating in the last 8 measures of "

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

". *

Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...

: Celesta version of "Es sucht der Bruder seine Brüder" from ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...

'' by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

. * Voice of Greece: "The Little Shepherd" (), played on

floghera The floghera ( el, φλογέρα, ) is a type of flute used in Greek folk music. It is a simple end-blown bamboo flute without a fipple, which is played by directing a narrow air stream against its sharp, open upper end. It typically has seven fin ...

. *

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

: A tune composed by Walter Kaufmann or Thakur Balwant Singh, used since 1936. *

Radio Republik Indonesia ''Radio Republik Indonesia'' (Radio of the Republic of Indonesia, abbreviated as RRI), legally ''Lembaga Penyiaran Publik (LPP) Radio Republik Indonesia'' ( Public Broadcasting Institution Radio of the Republic of Indonesia), is a public radio ...

: " Solace on Coconut Island" (), composed by

Ismail Marzuki Ismail Marzuki (also known as Bang Ma'ing; 11 May 1914 – 25 May 1958) was an Indonesian composer, songwriter and musician who wrote around 202 to 240 songs between 1931 and 1958, including numerous popular patriotic songs. Among his best- ...

. Interval signals may vary by province. *

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

: Chime version of "O'Donnell Forever" (). *

Radio Japan NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese state-controlled public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-ser ...

: :* "Kazoe-uta" (, ''counting-out game''). :* "

Sakura Sakura , also known as "Sakura", is a traditional Japanese folk song depicting spring, the season of cherry blossoms. It is often sung in international settings as a song representative of Japan. Contrary to popular belief, the song did not originate ...

" (, ''cherry blossoms''). * :*

Voice of Korea Voice of Korea () is the international broadcasting service of North Korea. It broadcasts primarily information in Chinese, Spanish, German, English, French, Russian, Japanese and Arabic. Until 2002 it was known as Radio Pyongyang. The inter ...

: Melody of "

Song of General Kim Il-sung The "Song of General Kim Il-sung" ( Korean: 김일성장군의 노래) is a North Korean marching song composed by Kim Won-gyun in 1946. As a part of an ongoing cult of personality, the song praising Kim Il-sung, North Korea's "Eternal Presiden ...

" (). :* : Melody of "

Song of General Kim Jong-il The "Song of General Kim Jong-il" () is a marching song from North Korea. It was composed by Sol Myong-sun(설명순,1936-2012) and the words were written by Sin Un-ho(신운호,1941-March 24,2020) in 1997. The song praises the " Eternal Genera ...

" (). *

KBS World Radio KBS World Radio ( Korean: KBS 월드라디오; formerly Radio Korea and Radio Korea International) is the official international broadcasting station of South Korea. Owned by the Korean Broadcasting System, the station broadcasts news and informa ...

: "Dawn". *

RTL Radio RTL Radio is a German commercial radio station based in Berlin and the part of the RTL Group. It originated as the German language service of Radio Luxembourg, which began broadcasting after World War II from Luxembourg. It broadcasts adult c ...

: "De Feierwon" by

Michel Lentz Michel Lentz (21 May 1820 – 8 September 1893) was a Luxembourg poet. He is best known for having written '' Ons Hémécht'', the national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of ...

, played on chimes. * Voice of Mongolia: "Motherland" (). *

Radio New Zealand International RNZ Pacific or Radio New Zealand Pacific, sometimes abbreviated to RNZP, is a division of Radio New Zealand and the official international broadcasting station of New Zealand. It broadcasts a variety of news, current affairs and sports programm ...

: The call of a

New Zealand bellbird The New Zealand bellbird (''Anthornis melanura''), also known by its Māori names korimako, makomako, and kōmako, is a passerine bird endemic to New Zealand. It has greenish colouration and is the only living member of the genus ''Anthornis''. T ...

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 Augus ...

* : :*

Far East Broadcasting Company Far East Broadcasting Company is an international Christian radio network. From 1960 to 1994, FEBC owned and operated shortwave radio station KGEI in San Francisco, California. Philippines The Philippines is where FEBC began its initial broa ...

: "We Have Heard the Joyful Sound". :*

Radio Veritas Asia Radio Veritas Asia was the non-commercial Catholic shortwave station broadcasting to Asia. It is based in Quezon City, Philippines, and is owned by the Philippine Radio Educational and Information Center, which previously owned the original Rad ...

: "O via, vita, veritas". *

Radio Romania International Radio România Internaţional ( ro, Radio România Internaţional, or ) is a Romanian radio station owned by the Romanian public radio broadcaster Societatea Română de Radiodifuziune (SRR, the national public radio in Romania) that broadcasts ...

: The first nine notes of “

Pui de lei "Pui de lei" () is a Romanian patriotic poem. It was written by Ioan S. Nenițescu, author of many other patriotic poems, with "Pui de lei" being one of his most famous ones. It was published by him in 1891 in his work ''Pui de lei. Poesii eroice ...

", lyrics by Ioan S. Nenițescu and song by * :*

Radio Mayak Radio Mayak is a radio broadcasting company in Russia, owned by VGTRK. Mayak is the Russian word for "lighthouse" or "beacon". As well as Radio Mayak proper (which broadcasts news, talk shows, and popular music), the company is also responsible f ...

: Vibraphone version of ''Moscow Nights''. :* Radio Sakha: Excerpt from a Yakut folk song. * Radio Slovenia: Electronically generated

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

chirping. *

Radio Ukraine International Radio Ukraine International ( Ukrainian: ''Всесвітня служба "Радіо Україна"''), abbreviated RUI, is the official international broadcasting station of Ukraine. As a section of Suspilne and working from studios located ...

: "" (). *

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

: :* English programme: "

Bow Bells The Church of St Mary-le-Bow is a Church of England parish church in the City of London. Located on Cheapside, one of the city's oldest and most important thoroughfares, the church was founded in 1080 by Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury. Rebuil ...

". :* Non-English programme, non-Europe: "

Lillibullero "Lillibullero" (also spelled Lillibulero, Lilliburlero, or Lilli Burlero) is a march attributed to Henry Purcell that became popular in England at the time of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Background Henry Purcell is alleged to have c ...

", three notes tuned B–B–C. :* Non-English programme, to Europe: four notes tuned B–B–B–E. * : :*

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

: 3 chime-like notes. :*

Trans World Radio Trans World Radio (TWR) is a multinational evangelical Christian media distributor. The largest Christian media organization in the world, it uses mediumwave or high-powered AM and shortwave transmitters, local FM radio stations, cable, satelli ...

: "

What a Friend We Have in Jesus "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" is a Christian hymn originally written by preacher Joseph M. Scriven as a poem in 1855 to comfort his mother, who was living in Ireland while he was in Canada. Scriven originally published the poem anonymously, a ...

". :*

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

: Brass band version of "

Yankee Doodle "Yankee Doodle" is a traditional song and nursery rhyme, the early versions of which predate the Seven Years' War and American Revolution. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today. It is the state anthem of Connecticut. Its ...

". :*

WEWN WEWN is the shortwave radio outlet of the EWTN, a large Roman Catholic international broadcaster based in Irondale, Alabama. It was launched by Mother Angelica on December 28, 1992. WEWN broadcasts from the city of Vandiver, Alabama, in the vici ...

, later EWTN Global Radio: "

Salve Regina The "Salve Regina" (, ; meaning 'Hail Queen'), also known as the "Hail Holy Queen", is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church. The Salve Regina ...

" *

Vatican Radio Vatican Radio ( it, Radio Vaticana; la, Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, ...

: " Christus Vincit", played on

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

. *

Radio Nacional de Venezuela Radio Nacional de Venezuela is a government radio station in Venezuela. Broadcasting began in 1936. The station is currently run by the Venezuelan governments Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information (MINCI). For external bro ...

's : Beginning of "Alma Llanera" by

Pedro Elías Gutiérrez Pedro Elías Gutiérrez (March 14, 1870–May 31, 1954) was a Venezuelan musician who is mainly remembered for the song ''Alma Llanera'', whose music he composed for the zarzuela of the same name. Gutiérrez also led the Orquesta Caraque� ...

and

Rafael Bolívar Coronado Rafael Bolívar Coronado was a Venezuelan composer and author. He was born on 6 June 1884 in Villa de Cura, Aragua, Aragua State. Bolívar is best known for writing the lyrics of the popular joropo song ''Alma Llanera'', in conjunction with com ...

Formerly used

Radio Tirana Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (; en, "Albanian Radio and Television"; mostly called RTSH ) is an Albanian public broadcasting radio and television company. Founded in 1938, it operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmi ...

: ''Këputa një gjethe dafine'' (transmission intro) and the trumpet version of ''With Pickaxe and Rifle''. *

Radio Australia ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...

: Chimes version of ''

Waltzing Matilda "Waltzing Matilda" is a song developed in the Australian style of poetry and folk music called a bush ballad. It has been described as the country's "unofficial national anthem". The title was Australian slang for travelling on foot (waltzing) ...

'' (chorus),

Kookaburra Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...

call. News signature tune: '' Majestic Fanfare''. *

Radio Österreich International Radio Österreich International (RÖI) (Austrian Radio International) was an international radio station broadcast by ORF (broadcaster), ORF. RÖI was launched in 1955 by order of the Federal Chancellery, to increase awareness of Austria in oth ...

: Orchestral version of ''An der schönen blauen Donau'' (" Blue Danube Waltz") by Johann Strauss. *

Ö1 Österreich 1 (Ö1) is an Austrian radio station: one of the four national channels operated by Austria's public broadcaster ORF. It focuses on classical music and opera, jazz, documentaries and features, news, radio plays and dramas, ''Kabarett' ...

: Three notes signifying O–R–F by

Werner Pirchner Werner Pirchner (13 February 1940 – 10 August 2001) was an Austrian composer and jazz musician. Life He was born in Hall in Tirol, and had his musical start playing jazz. In 1963 he played vibraphone in the Oscar Klein, Oscar-Klein-Quartett. ...

, played on

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

. * RTBF International: '. *

Rádio Nacional Rádio Nacional (''National Radio'') is a Brazilian radio network belonging to the government-owned corporation EBC (''Empresa Brasil de Comunicação'', Brazil Communication Company), formerly known as ''Radiobrás''. History The Brazilian s ...

: '' Luar do Sertão'' ("Hinterlands Moonlight"). *

Radio Canada International Radio Canada International (RCI) is the international broadcasting service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Prior to 1970, RCI was known as the CBC International Service. The broadcasting service was also previously referred to as ...

: First four notes of ''

O Canada "O Canada" (french: Ô Canada, italic=no) is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the mus ...

'', played on piano or autoharp. *

Radio Peking China Radio International (CRI) is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of China. It is currently headquartered in the Babaoshan area of Beijing's Shijingshan District. It was founded on December 3, 1941, as Radio Peking. It late ...

(predecessor of

): Chimes version of 东方红 (" The East Is Red"). *

Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation ( gr, Ραδιοφωνικό Ίδρυμα Κύπρου , tr, Kıbrıs Radyo Yayın Kurumu), or CyBC (ΡΙΚ, KRYK), is Cyprus' public broadcasting service. It transmits island-wide on four radio and two domestic ...

: ''Avkoritsa'' by Andreas Mappouras, played on guitar * Radio Prague :* Trumpet version of ''Kupředu levá'' ("Forward, Left") by Jan Seidl :* '' Adagio – Allegro molto from Symphony No. 9'' by Dvořák. *

Yle Radio 1 Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...

: ''Pim-pam-pulla'' by A. O. Väisänen. *

: Trumpet version of a popular song, '. *

Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR; ''Northwest German Broadcasting'') was the organization responsible for public broadcasting in the German Länder of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia from 22 September 1945 to ...

: The 4th symphony by

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

. * : Ending bars of '' Volk ans Gewehr'', played on glockenspiel. * :*

Berliner Rundfunk The Berliner Rundfunk (BERU) was a radio station set in East Germany. It had a political focus and discussed events in East Berlin. Today it is a commercial radio station broadcast with the name "Berliner Rundfunk 91.4". History The Berliner ...

: Motif from the opera '' Regina'' by

Albert Lortzing Gustav Albert Lortzing (23 October 1801 – 21 January 1851) was a German composer, librettist, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German ''Spieloper'', a form similar to the French ''opéra comique'', which ...

, played by trumpets. :*

Radio Berlin International Radio Berlin International was the international broadcasting arm for the German Democratic Republic's (GDR) Rundfunk der DDR (Radio of the GDR) broadcasting service. Radio Berlin International (RBI) was one of the major international broadcaste ...

: Beginning of ''

Auferstanden aus Ruinen "" (, ) is a German patriotic song that was the national anthem of East Germany during its existence from 1949 to 1990. History Background In 1949, the Soviet occupation zone of Allied-occupied Germany became a socialist state under the name of ...

'' ("Risen from Ruins"), played on chimes. :*

Radio DDR Radio DDR 1 ( en, Radio GDR 1) was a radio channel produced and transmitted by Rundfunk der DDR, the radio broadcasting organization of East Germany (GDR). It had a mixed schedule of news and light entertainment, with the emphasis on events in the ...

: First few bars of ''Wann wir schreiten Seit’ an Seit’''. :* Radio NTS ::: :* : "

Ode to Joy "Ode to Joy" (German language, German: , literally "To heJoy") is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller and published the following year in ''Thalia (magazine), Thalia''. A slightl ...

" ::: * Deutschlandfunk: Celesta version of ''Dir, Land voll Lieb' und Leben'' from "

Ich hab' mich ergeben "Ich hab′ mich ergeben" (, ), originally titled "Gelübde" ("Vow"), is a German patriotic song. The text was written in 1820 by Hans Ferdinand Maßmann. It was one of the unofficial national anthems of West Germany from 1949 to 1952, when the ...

" by

Hans Ferdinand Maßmann Hans Ferdinand Massmann (german: Maßmann; 15 August 1797 – 3 August 1874) was a German philology, philologist, known for his studies in Middle High German, Old German German language, language and literature, and for his work introducing gymna ...

. *

Radio Budapest Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

: Excerpts from the suite ''1848'' by T.K. Polgar played on three trumpets and two cornets. *

Kol Yisrael ''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' ( lit. "Voice of Israel", also "Israel Radio") is Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, the Israel Broadcasti ...

: Trumpet and drum version of ''

Hatikvah Hatikvah ( he, הַתִּקְוָה, haTīqvā, ; ) is the national anthem of the State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jewish people to return t ...

''. * Rai Italia Radio: Mechanically generated canary chirping. *

: '' Hymne Monégasque'' * :* NPO: First seven notes of ''

Wilhelmus "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe", usually known just as "Wilhelmus" ( nl, Het Wilhelmus, italic=no; ; English translation: "The William"), is the national anthem of both the Netherlands and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It dates back to at least 1572 ...

'', played on clarinet (

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

and Radio 5), synthesizer ( Radio 3),

spinet A spinet is a smaller type of harpsichord or other keyboard instrument, such as a piano or organ. Harpsichords When the term ''spinet'' is used to designate a harpsichord, typically what is meant is the ''bentside spinet'', described in this ...

( Radio 4) and flute ( Radio 2). :*

Radio Netherlands Radio Netherlands (RNW; nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012. Its services i ...

: Carillon version of the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

song ''

Merck toch hoe sterck "Merck toch hoe sterck" (Dutch: ) is a Dutch war song and sea shanty, written between 1622 and 1625 by Adriaen Valerius (who adapted the "Wilhelmus", the national anthem of the Netherlands). The music is based on an Elizabethan lute song writte ...

''. * :*

NRK P1 NRK P1 is a nationwide digital radio channel operated by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). It is the result of the NRK radio channel reform initiated in 1993 by radio director Tor Fuglevik. NRK P1 is the direct descendant of NRK's fir ...

: Motif from ''Sigurd Josarfal'' by

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

. :* Radio Norway International ( , former international service of

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

): Ancient folk tune from the

Hallingdal Hallingdal ( en, Halling Valley) is a valley as well as a traditional district located in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county in Norway. It consists of six municipalities: Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. ...

region. * :*

Radio Katowice Polish Radio Katowice ( pl, Polskie Radio Katowice) is the largest regional station of Polish Radio. It was created in 1927. It can be received in the Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ...

: Sound of a hammer striking an anvil. :* : Excerpt from ''O Warmio moja miła'' by

Feliks Nowowiejski Feliks Nowowiejski (7 February 1877 – 18 January 1946) was a Polish composer, conductor, concert organist, and music teacher. Nowowiejski was born in Wartenburg (today Barczewo) in Warmia in the Prussian Partition of Poland (then admini ...

, played on barrel organ. :* Polish Radio External Service: Excerpt from ''Prząśniczka'' by Stanisław Moniuszko, played on piano. :*

Radio Polonia Radio Poland (until January 2007 as Radio Polonia, later "Polish Radio External Service" ( pl, Polskie Radio dla Zagranicy), in Polish legislation also named as Polskie Radio Program V) is the official international broadcasting station of Pola ...

: Piano version of ''Etude No. 12'' ("Revolutionary Etude") by Frédéric Chopin. * Radio Bucharest 1 and Radio Bucharest External Service (pre 1989): Fragment from ''Cantata anilor luminǎ'' by

Anatol Vieru Anatol Vieru (; 8 June 1926 – 8 October 1998) was a Romanian-Jewish music theoretician, pedagogue, and composer. A pupil of Aram Khachaturian, he composed seven symphonies, eight string quartets, concertos, and chamber music. He also wrote t ...

Voice of Russia Voice of Russia ( rus, Голос России, r=Golos Rossii), commonly abbreviated VOR, was the Russian government's international radio broadcasting service from 1993 until 2014, when it was reorganised as Radio Sputnik. Its interval signal w ...

: "Majestic" chorus from the "Great Gate of Kiev" portion of ''

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's most famous pia ...

'' by

Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

. * Radio Serbia: '' Bože pravde''. *

Radio Slovakia International Radio Slovakia International (RSI) is Slovakia's official internet-based international broadcaster. The station was created almost simultaneously with the emergence of independent Slovakia and began broadcasting on 4 January 1993. Its duties w ...

: ''Kto za pravdu horí''. *

Radio RSA Radio RSA: The Voice of South Africa was the international broadcasting service of the Republic of South Africa. It was run by the South African Broadcasting Corporation from its inception on 1 May 1966 until its demise in 1992 following the end of ...

(former international service of

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

-era

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

Bokmakierie The bokmakierie (''Telophorus zeylonus'') is a bushshrike. This family of passerine birds is closely related to the true shrikes in the family Laniidae, and was once included in that group. This species is endemic to southern Africa, mainly in ...

chirping and first bars of ''Ver in die Wereld, Kittie'', played on guitar. *

Radio Sweden Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

: Chime version of ''Ut i vida världen'' ("Out in the Wide World"), composed by

Ralph Lundsten Ralph Lundsten (born 6 October 1936) is a Swedish composer of electronic music, as well as a film director, artist and author. He was born and raised in Ersnäs, Norrbotten, in northern Sweden, and now lives in Nacka on the outskirts of Stock ...

and the opening notes of

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well ...

's ''Storm och böljor tystna r'en''. * :* : ''D' Zit isch do'', played on

music box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc to pluck the tuned teeth (or ''lamellae'') ...

. :* Swiss Radio International: ''Lueget, vo Berg und Tal''. *

Voice of Turkey Voice of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye'nin Sesi Radyosu) is the international service of Turkish state radio on shortwave, Turksat 3A satellite and the Internet. All the broadcasts are transmitted from single site near Emirler, Ankara Province. (). ...

Turkish makam The Turkish makam ( Turkish: ''makam'' pl. ''makamlar''; from the Arabic word ) is a system of melody types used in Turkish classical music and Turkish folk music. It provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance. Each makam speci ...

, played on piano. :: *

Radio Moscow Radio Moscow ( rus, Pадио Москва, r=Radio Moskva), also known as Radio Moscow World Service, was the official international broadcasting station of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1993. It was reorganized with a new name ...

(former international service of the Soviet Union): :* ''Подмосковные вечера'' ("

Moscow Nights __NOTOC__ "Moscow Nights" ( rus, Подмосковные вечера, r=Podmoskovnyje večera, ), later covered as "Midnight in Moscow", is a Soviet Russian song. Composition and initial success Composer Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi and poet Mikhai ...

"), played on

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

. :* ''Песня о Родине'' (" Wide Is My Motherland") *

: Trumpet version of ''

Oranges and Lemons "Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earlies ...

'', first four notes of ''Symphony No. 5'' by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, played on timpani; ''

'' (signature tune, played on trumpet). *

WYFR WYFR was a shortwave radio station located in Okeechobee, Florida, United States. The station was owned by Family Stations, Inc., as part of the Family Radio network, and used to broadcast traditional Christian radio programming to internation ...

: First two bars of ''

To God Be the Glory To God Be the Glory is a hymn with lyrics by Fanny Crosby and tune by William Howard Doane, first published in 1875. It appears to have been written around 1872 but was first published in 1875 in Lowry and Doane's song collection, ''Bright ...

'' by

William Howard Doane William Howard Doane (February 3, 1832 – December 24, 1915) was a manufacturer, inventor, hymn writer, choral director, church leader and philanthropist. He composed over 2,000 church hymns. More than seventy patents are credited to him for ...

played by a brass band * Radio Yugoslavia (1980–1989): First bar of ''Druže Tito, ljubićice bjela'' anonymous Partisan song, in various orchestral renditions. :* Radio Yugoslavia, later

International Radio of Serbia The International Radio of Serbia ( sr, Међународни радио Србија), formerly Radio Yugoslavia was the official international broadcasting station of Serbia. International Radio of Serbia used to broadcast to all parts of the ...

and Montenegro: ''Jugoslavijo'' by Nikola Hercigonja. Classical radio station

WQXR-FM WQXR-FM (105.9 FM) is an American non-commercial classical radio station, licensed to Newark, New Jersey and serving the North Jersey and New York City area. It is owned by the nonprofit organization New York Public Radio, which also operates ...

in New York City, during its ownership by

The New York Times Company The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City. History The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. T ...

, played different variations of a classical infused gong with the ID read at the same time as "The Classical Station of the New York Times, WQXR, New York (And WQXR.com 2000–2009)

Numbers station interval signals

Numbers station A numbers station is a shortwave radio station characterized by broadcasts of formatted numbers, which are believed to be addressed to intelligence officers operating in foreign countries. Most identified stations use speech synthesis to vocal ...

s are often named after their interval signals, such as

The Lincolnshire Poacher "The Lincolnshire Poacher" is a traditional English folk song associated with the county of Lincolnshire, and deals with the joys of poaching. It is considered to be the unofficial county anthem of Lincolnshire. It is catalogued as Roud Folk ...

or Magnetic Fields after "Magnetic Fields Part 1" by

Jean-Michel Jarre Jean-Michel André Jarre (; born 24 August 1948) is a French composer, performer and record producer. He is a pioneer in the electronic, ambient and new-age genres, and is known for organising outdoor spectacles featuring his music, accompani ...

References

External links

{{Commons category
Interval Signals Online

IntervalSignal DataBase (German)English version
* Uwe Volk's Sound Library (available both i

and i

Interval signals on Live-Radio.net
International broadcasting Audiovisual ephemera

List of interval signals by station

Formerly used

Numbers station interval signals

References

Further reading

External links