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1A long-lasting [[GameShowTropes Game Show Trope]]. When the big money's on the line, a piece of music often plays while the contestant is given some time to think out their answer. In many cases, this keeps the same musical motif as the show's main theme, but some shows use a completely different melody for the think music.
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3!!Examples:
4* Perhaps the best known example is "Think!", the JeopardyThinkingMusic from ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'', which plays during the 30-second span in which the contestants write down their Final Jeopardy! questions. It is in the form of a TickTockTune. Listen to a fifteen-minute loop [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuABhumm6fY here]].
5* On sister show ''Series/WheelOfFortune'', a light music cue plays throughout the Toss-Up rounds, the [[SpeedRound Speed-Up round]] and during the 10-second countdown in the BonusRound. Initially, however, Speed-Up rounds were silent, and the only sound in the BonusRound was a beeping timer.
6* Several of Creator/JayWolpert's game shows (''Series/{{Blackout}}, Rodeo Drive, Series/WaitTilYouHaveKids'') feature sort of a trope ''within'' this trope during {{Bonus Round}}s: a slow piece with notes that alternate back and forth on each second, with repeating {{Truck Drivers Gear Change}}s throughout to add suspense.
7* ''Series/MatchGame'' has a variant, as the think music plays while the celebrities write their answers.
8* On ''Series/TicTacDough'', the center square was always a two-part question. A synthesized think cue played while the contestant was given extra time to ponder the question. The original edition (1956-59) had think music for the center square from in-house musicians.
9** [[SubvertedTrope However]], if the center box was a musical category, like Opera, the musical clue would play, followed by a few seconds of silence, so that the contestant would not be confused.
10* Stretching the definition a bit, but the "plonk plonk plonk" timer that counts down the 60-second limit in the Winner's Circle on the ''Series/{{Pyramid}}'' franchise is actually considered part of the music package. (The Donny Osmond version used an actual music bed.)
11** When ''Pyramid'' was revived in 2017, the original "plonk" track returned, but had dramatic underscoring added.
12** The "plonk" timer was also used on the short-lived ''Series/{{Go}}'' and ''Double Talk'', the original ''Series/ChainReaction'', and early seasons of the American version of ''Series/SaleOfTheCentury''.
13* A soft music cue plays throughout rounds on ''Series/{{Lingo}}'' while the contestants guess the words, sounding much like a mellower mix of the ThemeTune. A similar piece also plays during Bonus Lingo.
14* Several pricing games on ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' use this, most often in games that require the contestant to manipulate a prop to determine the price: e.g., moving the number blocks in Switcheroo, the price tags in Race Game, the paddles in Bonkers, etc.
15* ''Series/YouBetYourLife'' played a short reprise of the show's theme, "Hello, I Must Be Going (Hurray for Captain Spaulding!)", as the contestant pair pondered their answer to the Jackpot question.
16* The think music on ''Series/{{Countdown}}'' is as iconic in the United Kingdom as the ''Jeopardy!'' music is in the United States.
17* The Jack Narz version of ''Series/{{Concentration}}'' had a short "rebus reveal" cue that was played when time ran short in the main game. The ''Classic Concentration'' version also sometimes had a softer version of the theme play as Alex read off the numbers being revealed of a tie breaking 3rd rebus.
18* VideoGame example: In the ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' series, there is one minigame BGM track per game that is generally used for the thinking-based minigames in that game.
19* ''[[Series/{{Camouflage1961}} Camouflage]]'' (ABC, 1961-62) had a light in-house orchestrated 10-second think piece for contestants searching out the hidden object in her picture drawing.
20* ''Series/FindersKeepers'' employed think music during the Hidden Pictures portion of the game, which also doubled as the intro music before kicking into the theme song during the show's opening.
21* ''Series/ThinkFast'', another Nickelodeon game show, used various renditions of its ThemeTune for each event; when the event was more of a "mental" than a "physical" contest, the music consisted of nothing more than a handful of notes and barely audible rhythmic cymbals. There was also a brief "think cue" used when a piece of the Brain Bender was revealed.
22* ''Series/DogEatDog'', especially during the final round.
23* ''Series/{{Distraction}}'', during the "BonusRound"; the US version also used "think cues" during the main game more often than the UK version.
24* ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'', as well as ''[[WhoWantsToBeWhoWantsToBeAMillionaire most of its clones and spinoffs]]'', have some form of "think music" going ''the entire show''.
25* ''Series/WhereInTheWorldIsCarmenSandiego'' had two, both performed by Rockapella - "How much you wanna risk?" during the wagering portion of the game, and "Where do you wanna go?" as the winning contestant wrote down his desired trip destination if he captured Carmen.
26* ''Series/FaceTheMusic'' played a cheesy 10-second bit in the Championship Game when a contestant was studying the baby picture for $10,000.
27* ''Series/GetThePicture'' had a 10-second cue similar to the above when the team was studying the nine pictures at the beginning of Mega Memory.
28* The short-lived ''VideoGame/YouDontKnowJack'' game show parodied this with intentionally overly loud music to distract the contestants, usually played by a marching band.
29* ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'' has many puzzles and there is thinking music being played while in a puzzle. It even made it into [[Anime/ProfessorLaytonAndTheEternalDiva the movie]]!
30* ''Series/PanelQuizAttack25'' has two: a cue that plays while the bonus game clues are being shown, and another five-second TickTockTune after a question is read during the main game.
31* Swedish long-running gameshow ''Kvitt eller dubbelt'' (''Double Or Nothing'', based on ''[[Series/The64000Question The $64 000 Question]]'') used as think music ''Proclamation'' from ''Spirituals for String Choir and Orchestra'' by Morton Gould. The piece subsequently entered the collective conscious as the most stress-inducing music ever. Have a listen here: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfBqIcEqoqA]]
32* ''VideoGame/{{Kahoot}}'' has a series of memetically popular themes that play as the clock ticks down, heavily using tocks and bouncy noises. Depending on the time limit, they may become more frantic or calm accordingly.

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