History Main / Sting

* There is one the [[TheMovie movie adaptation]] of ''VisualNovel/{{AIR}}'' , right before [[spoiler: Misuzu dies in the arms of her adoptive mother]]. It is generally considered very ill-placed, since instead of heightening the drama it diminishes it by cutting off the very sad music leading up to the moment. It is luckily not used in either the [[VisualNovel game]] or the television series.

Here is a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWUwgO1RwsQ compilation]] with examples of the "Dun dun DAH!" sting.

* In ''Discworld/SoulMusic'', the raven ''tries'' to verbally invoke this trope before revealing to Susan that her grandfather is (Dah-dah-dah-DAH!) Death. He never succeeds, as the Death of Rats keeps interrupting him, and calls him on it after Susan's gotten fed up and walked away.

* ''Series/24'' uses it's ticking clock effect so predictably that counts as an inversion of this trope on those rare occasions when you see the clock but don't hear the ''dink-donk'' sound effect. This is a silent sting used to indicate that someone has been KilledOffForReal.

* Elan from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' does to RunningGag levels. Including one occasion when he had ''no way'' of knowing something dramatic had happened because he was elsewhere shopping for a bag. Cut to him looking at identical light-brown bags and saying "Dun, dun, dun..."

* Elan from ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' also did this a couple of times.

* ''Series/MidnightCaller'': A seven-note sting plays every time Jack's show goes to commercial.

** Also lampshaded in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', where [[TheMetaGuy Prompto]] will occasionally hum the victory fanfare after a battle.

* Some of ''WebVideo/SomeJerkWithACamera'''s episodes lift the stings from TheyMightBeGiants' concert intros (see above) when he needs to effect an overly-dramatic flair.

* ''LastAlert'': "We are from the Force Project. You'll have to come with me". Dun Dun!

* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' games will often precede the current RandomEncounters theme with a jarring riff if the encounter starts off with an enemy ambush.

* Every ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' game has a "Variation" version of the game's "Pursuit" theme, which starts off with a sting before going immediately into the refrain of the track. To compare, the standard version starts with a few measures of buildup before going into the refrain.

* There is one the [[TheMovie movie adapation]] of ''VisualNovel/{{AIR}}'' , right before [[spoiler: Misuzu dies in the arms of her adoptive mother]]. It is generally considered very ill-placed, since instead of heightening the drama it diminishes it by cutting off the very sad music leading up to the moment. It is luckily not used in either the [[VisualNovel game]] or the television series.

* Similar to the ''Series/DoctorWho'' example above, both ''Series/EastEnders'' and ''Series/TheBill'' have had very distinctive "drumbeat" stings, which would punctuate the final scene of an episode at the point of a cliffhanger, and lead into the credits.

* ''Series/TheITCrowd'': Moss sets his phone's ringtone to the traditional "DUM-DUM-DUMMM!" sting. Naturally,it keeps going off at very appropriate (or perhaps inappropriate) times.

-->''Accordian sting''
-->'''Dougal''': Count Cardula, the accordian player?

* ''{{Blip}}:'' [[MundaneMadeAwesome DUN! DUN!]] [[http://blip.rampagenetwork.com/322/ DUN! DUN!]]

* WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo episode "Diggin' Earth" Sunspot does it by drumming the air (aliens!) then hitting a shot blade as a cymbal. A response to Dr. Rafferty's "groundbreaking project" quip.

* Older [[AppleMacintosh Macintosh]] computers sometimes play a Sting (the "Chimes of Death") when they fail a crucial hardware check on boot, with the notes of the ditty telling a savvy tech what's wrong even when video doesn't work

* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'' was known to have numerous stings that played before a commercial break. One of its most notable ones was the ominous 'Bum-Bum-Bum-Bum-BUUUMMM'.

* Used often in Franchise/DeadSpace, including for when [[spoiler: something falls off a shelf.]]

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has several, and the most notorious in terms of gameplay are the domination and revenge kill stings, based off of motifs from the [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome game's main theme tune]].
* Whenever you select the adventure mode in VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies.

** Don't forget the swooshing sound at the beginning of the ThemeTune.