A series of sad notes heard on some game shows whenever a contestant has lost (the Bonus Round, generally). These come in several flavors:
Type A: The most common; these usually take the form of a "mock fanfare" resembling a bar from the show's original Theme Tune, with the last note a "sad trombone" trailing off. Some examples of this type have only the "sad trombone".
Type B: A series of [...] [tvtropes.org]