In this article, I’m going to talk about the insanely prolific production style of the amazing Timbaland. I’ll be sharing 10 of the best Timbaland songs and the skills and techniques he uses in those hits.
Regardless of what type of music you make, I guarantee you that you will learn something you can can apply to your own style.
Stick around to the end for some bonus content too!
Timbaland’s origins can be traced back to Virginia Beach, where he started out as a DJ. His early collaborators included Magoo, Pharrell and Pusha T… not a bad list if I say so myself!
His production career began in the early 90s when he started working with R&B acts. He then progressed to producing the vast bulk of Aaliyah’s second album and Missy Elliott’s debut album.
From there, his mainstream success continued and he became Jay-Z’s producer. Big Pimpin’ was the first of their collaborations but there would be many more over the years to come.
Now, I’m about to share a video with you that inspires me when I need a little something to get me going. This is a video of Timbaland and Jay-Z in the studio getting ready to cook something up. Jay-Z’s reaction at that on particular moment (you’ll see) is priceless!
The moral of the story is that you should always have your beats or songs ready and on hand to play to whoever is interested. You never know where they might end up.
That beat became ‘Dirt off Your Shoulder’ and hit #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, so I’d say they did pretty well!
Two of the other beats you hear in that video are Ludacris’ ‘The Potion’ and Brandy’s ‘Come As You Are’. So, just because your beats get rejected once, that doesn’t mean they won’t be used again. Remember that!
Timbaland’s career continued to go from strength to strength and he started to land even bigger hits.
His collaboration with Scott Storch and Justin Timberlake on ‘Cry Me a River’ brought him worldwide recognition and a breakthrough that led to many more collaborations with Timberlake over the years.
He has released solo albums, founded record labels (Mosley Music Group) and battled his own personal demons to continue to be at the very top of the music production game.
As well as the artists already mentioned, his glittering career has included work with One Republic, Madonna, Elton John, Katy Perry, Chris Cornell and Kanye West.
That is exactly why I say there’s something to be learned from him, regardless of the type of music you produce.
So, now it’s time for me to share “10 of the best” skills, techniques and Timbaland songs with you right now…
1) Build around the beat.
Timbaland builds his songs around the beat and starts with the drums first. That can really help when creating a song because you can have the backbone to which you can fit your chords an melodies.
2) Rhythm
The rhythm in a Timbaland beat is infectious. It gets you tapping your foot, nodding your head and feeling fully engaged.
3) Personal touch
You can recognise a Timbaland beat as soon as you hear it. He often raps, sings or adds his own vocalisations to his beats, so they’re easily identifiable.
4) Sample selection
When it comes to drum samples, Timbo knows exactly what he’s looking for each time. That’s because he has a deep knowledge of drum machines and samples. He’s tried and tested them all so that he can easily hear what a song is missing. More on that later…
5) Experimentation
His production workflow has changed over the years. From big studio setups and multiple keyboards to writing on an iPad or working in Ableton Live with Push, Timbaland can write and produce on any device.
6) Eastern Influences
As with Scott Storch, you can hear a lot of eastern influences in Timbaland’s songs. ‘Indian Flute’ and ‘Come As You Are’ are great examples of this.
7) Teamwork
It might seem crazy that one man can do all this but there is a team behind Timbaland. Over the years his team has included engineering superstar Jimmy Douglass and super producer Danja.
8) Business Brain
It’s clear that Timbo has a great business brain. He has made a lot of intelligent choices over the years, including the launch of Moseley Music Group. Signing One Republic and working them on a rearranged version of ‘Apologize’ gave both Timbaland and One Republic a worldwide smash hit.
9) Collaboration
As with all great super producers and artists, it’s important to be a great collaborator. The number of times Timbaland has worked with Justin Timberlake over the years is a clear indicator that he knows how to collaborate and deliver.
10) Producer and Songwriter
Again… it’s so important to stay true to the song when you’re producing. If you’ve written the song and you’re producing it, it leaves you in a pretty strong position to see the song from inception to completion.
I mentioned earlier that Timbaland knows a huge amount about drum samples and drum machines. Here’s the proof.
According to Kanye West, he “saved” his huge hit, ‘Stronger’, with what he added to the track. When the track had already been mixed “10 or 11 times”, it just took Timbaland to come along and get it to where it needed to be.
There’s a lot to learn in this video about drum production if you listen closely.
And as well as the 10 of the best techniques and skills I’ve listed above, I’ve also put together a selection of 10 of the best Timbaland songs for you to listen to.
Check them out and see if you can hear the influences, skills and characteristic techniques I spoke about above.
Here’s the YouTube version:
(Please note that the tracks listed above are part of a live Spotify playlist and are updated weekly. They might not match the information below!)
Now, I’d love to know…
Who is your favourite producer/songwriter and why?
Leave a comment below!
professional sounding mix every time...
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