Power of Three Notes

I’ve been listening to Pandora a lot, lately. You know, feasting from an array of wonderfully talented composers like Thomas Newman, Randy Newman, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and Alan Menken.

Then I stumbled upon this gem by Michael Kamen. He composed the score for the HBO Series Band of Brothers.

Turns out, he passed away a few years ago. But before he went, he wrote some incredible music.

The piece Mr. Pandora showed me was entitled “Suite Two.” Listening to it below, I couldn’t help but stop and perk my ears at three single notes in the piece, at 3:13 exactly:

Recognize it? Hmm? Are you sure?

That’s what I thought.

EDIT: Holy crap, I just learned more about this than I thought was possible. Turns out, the three note sequence is referred to as the NBC Chimes. It was the first ever audio trademark to be accepted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and it has a long history. Seriously, check it out.

Oddly enough, Kamen’s reference to the three-note sequence doesn’t appear to be a “quote” of the NBC Chimes. That wouldn’t make sense, anyway: the series aired on HBO, right?