The cross-modal oddball paradigm is typically used to study why infrequently presented sound prolongs reaction time to visual targets (the novelty effect). In the experiment reported here, we used this paradigm with a twist whereby each target was preceded by one of three standard sounds (A, B or C) which formed a repetitive sequential sequence across trials (i.e., A-B-C-B-AB-C-B- etc.). The standard sound sequence was occasionally interrupted during the experimental session (e.g., A-B-CA-B-C-B- etc.) to test whether this interruption produced a novelty effect. Interruptions did capture attention and more so when the replaced sound differed substantially—in Hertz—from the replacing sound. Standard sound can cause a novelty effect, not only infrequently presented sound, as long as they violate what we have learned about (and therefore expect of) the sound environment.