Most ringtones are either too soft, too irritating, or too disruptive and startling. If you choose one that is a favorite tune, it becomes hummable, a statement, and a topic for conversation itself.

The iPhone (default) ringtone is transparent: it draws no attention to itself; though it clearly consists of musical notes, you can’t remember it well enough to reproduce it; nevertheless it is euphonious; it simply draws attention to the fact that the phone wants you rather than drawing attention to itself.

It serves its purpose modestly, altogether a model for human behavior.