Timbaland MasterClass Review:
Everything From Vocal Samples
Last updated on: August 3, 2023, Written by:
Bill Tremlon
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For most music producers, the beauty of music-making is coming up with great tracks. It’s not always easy, but producers like Timbaland make it seem simple. With countless Hip-Hop and R&B hits under his name, most artists want to work with him.
I looked into his first-ever online class to learn how he does it. In this Timbaland MasterClass, he gives details about how he makes music with the help of his production team. I also got to learn the creative and thought process behind some of his hit music and how he makes his legendary stuttering kick drum sound.
In this Timbaland MasterClass review, I’ll explore how he teaches aspiring producers to make beats like a pro.
Contents
Timbaland MasterClass Overview
This course provides all the essentials to create hits. You’ll learn the thought process of making a tune, melody structure, layering drums, and developing catchy hooks. Most importantly, Tim teaches the feelings involved in beat-making that result from inspiration. He also teaches about working with a production team, vocalists, and writers.
Timbaland MasterClass Review Summary
| ⭐ Rating: | 9.0 ★★★★★ |
| 🥇 Category of class: | Music |
| 📈 Suits best for: | Anyone who loves and is interested in music |
| 🕒 Lenght: | 3 hours 2 minutes |
| ⏳ Avg. Lesson Duration | 12 minutes |
| 🛍️ Course Essentials: | Pen, paper, and love for music |
| 💼 Complementary material: | 47-page workbook |
| 📚 No. of Lessons: | 15 lessons |
| 🛒 Payment options: | Individual / Duo / Family |
| 💵 Price: | 10 – 20 $ (billed annually) |
| 🔄 Refund policy: | 30-day satisfaction guarantee |
| 🎁 Free trial: | ✅ |
Key Skills You’ll Learn
- Establishing your creative process;
- Progressing a chord;
- Adjusting and layering drums
- Altering vocal samples;
- Contrasting a beat;
- Creating a beat’s topline;
- Surviving in the music industry.
Who is Timbaland MasterClass for
Timbaland’s MasterClass is for anyone who loves music and wants to make beats that stand out. Beginner, intermediate, and expert music producers can benefit from this course. It’s also a great watch for anyone who is a fan of Timbaland.
Our Evaluation
Total score: 9.0
PROS
CONS
In This Timbaland’s MasterClass
Review, You’ll Learn
Timbaland MasterClass Instructor Review
About Timbaland
Timbaland is well-known in the music industry as a record producer and musician. In the last 29 years that he has been producing music, he has 18 Grammy nominations and won 4 of them. The magazine recently ranked him as number third out of the 50 greatest producers of the 21st century.
Timbaland has worked with many musicians and even produced career-defining tracks for them. Tim has worked with many popular hip-hop, R&B, and Pop musicians.
Some of his most famous works include Ginuwine’s Pony, Aaliyah’s One In A Million, Jay-Z’s Dirt Off Your Shoulder, Missy Elliott’s Work It, Justin Timberlake’s Sexy Back, One Republic’s Apologize, and Say it Right by Nelly Furtado.
Timbaland as an Instructor
Timbaland has three things that make one excel at being a teacher. He is passionate about what he talks about, has immense knowledge of beat production and has alot of music experience. Even though this is his first attempt at online instruction, he makes it look effortless.
You can tell how great of a communicator he is through his theoretical and technical lessons. Timbaland’s MasterClass also takes time to break down the thought process behind some of his hit music productions.
About MasterClass
Since 2015, MasterClass brings 180+ online classes from top-tier instructors in almost any field. It includes pre-recorded video lessons from masters such as Richard Branson, Martin Scorsese, Aaron Sorkin, Gordon Ramsay, and many others.
The video quality equals Hollywood movies, and every MasterClass course is carefully structured. But that’s not all. There are interactive assignments, MasterClass community activities, and an ever-growing video library to enjoy top MasterClass classes. The sheer amount of content can make it hard to begin. Cursums will help you to choose wisely.
Uniqueness and Freshness of the Content
Tim has a book co-authored with Veronica Chambers called The Emperor of Sound: A Memoir. It documents Tim’s work as a music producer. While you learn how he does his craft, it doesn’t provide a complete picture as it is only in word print. It’s also not up to date, as it was first published in 2015.
Timbaland’s MasterClass offers a more updated solution to this problem. It’s more comprehensive and also interactive, which is suitable for visual learners. The course also has exclusive footage of Tim in the process of making beats in the studio.
Tim isn’t the only music producer teaching in the MasterClass. Other great personalities offer their expertise too in the field. MasterClass library include Tom Morello’s electric guitar lessons , Armin Van Buuren MasterClass, Questlove, and Deadmau5’s electronic music production classes. Timbaland MasterClass stands out because of his out-of-the-box approach to producing. I enjoyed learning these unique music-producing ways.
Timbaland MasterClass Content and Structure Review
There are 15 lessons in Timbaland’s MasterClass. Finishing all of them takes about 3 hours and 2 minutes, which you can go through in one sitting. The lessons take 12 minutes on average.
The second lesson on Making a Beabox Beat is the longest in the course going for almost 28 minutes. It’s a bit long because we head into the studio with Tim and he shows how to build a song sound from a beat maker.
The course workbook contains short assignments modelled around the video lessons. They have easy-to-follow instructions, and I found that you can do each of them within 5-10 minutes.
Tims Process of Building Beats
1-3 Lessons Summary
The content in the first three lessons serves as an introduction studio session and into Tim as a producer. They mainly cover the initial stages of idea creation before beginning the process of creating music composition and dope beats.
I got to see Tims’s personal creative process, which is very unique. He makes a beatbox beat with his mouth in front of a microphone. He then creates a digital version of the beat in the studio and adds melody to the tune.
Making a Beat: Starting With a Chord Progression
4-13 Lessons Summary
After coming up with an outline for a beat, the next course of action is making the beat. To do this, Timbaland explains how he progresses through a series of processes.
The first is getting your production team in sync with your idea. Afterward, start with a chord progression, then proceed to tweak and layer drums, then imprint your signature sound on the samples. The next steps involve finalizing your beat, which involves contrasting and adding a topline.
The course touches on some track examples that he has made to explain how he makes beats. Some of Timbaland’s music presented are Jay Z’s Dirt Off Your Shoulder, Ginuwine’s Pony, Missy Elliot’s Gossip Folks, and Aaliyah’s Are You That Somebody.
How to Persevere
14-15 Lessons Summary
In these final lessons, Tim concludes this MasterClass by sharing what drives him and keeps him focused to produce hit after hit song in a competitive music industry.
He shows us where to draw inspiration and motivation from. For example, he credits his particular type of sound to great producers who came before him.
Fast-Track Lesson Plan
Finish Timbaland MasterClass in 2 hours, 8 minutes, and 30 seconds.
| No. | Lesson | Duration |
| 2. | Studio Sessions: Making a Beatbox Beat | 27:56 |
| 3. | Building Beats: Tim’s Process | 13:02 |
| 4. | Making a Beat: Getting Warmed Up | 14:40 |
| 6. | Making a Beat: Starting With a Chord Progression | 12:14 |
| 7. | Making a Beat: Tweaking and Layering Drums | 09:45 |
| 9. | Making a Beat: Manipulating Vocal Samples | 09:20 |
| 10. | Making a Beat: Creating a Breakdown | 19:21 |
| 12. | Making a Beat: Adding a Topline | 22:12 |
Timbaland MasterClass Student Engagement and Retention
Like all lessons taught on MasteClass, Timbaland teaches producing through a visually engaging course. There are occasional video clips of Tim’s past work in the studio. If you enjoy a combination of visuals and traditional notes like me, you’ll find great use in the course.
The video lessons are easy to follow, and though there were many terms I didn’t understand, Timbaland demonstrates what he means. It also helps that there are short descriptions on the bottom left of the videos whenever a technical term is mentioned.
The course offers a rare appeal that kept me hooked and wanting to see more. In some videos, Tim instructs from his studio, which he calls the Hit Factory, doing some practical beat-making with his team, which he calls Team Timbo. It’s a fresh perspective from the usual way of instruction of most MasterClass instructors, who remain in one spot throughout the course.
My Personal Experience With Timbaland MasterClass
Things I Liked About the Timbaland MasterClass
Instruction From a Top Producer
I liked that I was getting knowledge on music production from the person behind some of the greatest hits in the last 30 years. I particularly enjoyed watching song origins for Gossip Folks. It’s a track that he collaborates with his childhood friend Missy Elliot.
Covers the Main Areas of Production
At first glance, Timbaland’s MasterClass may not seem comprehensive, but that is far from the case. It covers almost all areas of music production, from capturing inspiration, and sampling beats, to structuring, adding melody, vocals, and effects. Knowledge from these areas impaired me with different music production skills like progressing a chord, altering vocal samples, and many more.
Efficient Use of Case Studies
I found that using case studies titled Song Origins in four lessons was a good break from normal learning. Tim explains how some tracks from Jay Z, Missy Elliot, Aaliyah, and Ginuwine came about. I found myself amazed at the great mind of Tim and how he takes sounds that don’t matter to an untrained ear and turns them into masterpieces.
A Useful Workbook
I used the workbook to review content I missed in the main video lessons. It has a good summary of what Tim teaches. It also contains useful explanations for the technical jargon which features throughout the course. The short assignments are beneficial to enhancing my engagement in the course as a learner.
Two Free Stem Tracks
As a bonus, Tim offers two music tracks to his students for practice. They are downloadable in .zip format, meaning you have to uncompress them. I found it a good way for fans and producers who look up to him to get to own pieces of Tim’s work that they can reproduce into new projects.
Things I Didn’t Like About the Timbaland MasterClass
Use of Too Much Jargon
Timbaland’s MasterClass has too much jargon, making it hard to follow what Tim says sometimes. To cover for this, the video has plenty of sections that explain some jargon use but not all. The workbook also tries to educate on some production terms. Despite these efforts, the jargon downplayed the excitement of Timbaland’s MasterClass.
Expensive Tools of Production
Timbaland may be a great producer and now a great instructor, but the tools he uses are quite expensive, limiting some producers. His multimillion studio set is a true reflection of this, including the plugins he uses for production.
Timbaland does try to show his learners affordable ways of making a beat, like beatboxing. However, it’s still not enough for a person who wants to reach his production level.
Is Timbaland MasterClass Worth the Money
Cost of Timbaland MasterClass
Timbaland’s MasterClass cost starts from an affordable Individual plan of $10 per month. A Duo package is also available for $15 per month. The highest-priced package is the Family plan that costs 20 per month.
After carefully reviewing MasterClass, I can strongly say that the MasterClass is worth the monthly subscription billed annually. The expert knowledge you’ll get, exclusive footage of him making beats, a sourcebook, and free audio tracks make the Timbaland’s MasterClass cost worth it.
| Plan | Price |
| Individual (one device) | $10 per month |
| Duo (two devices) | $15 per month |
| Family (six devices) | $20 per month |
As a bonus, any of these subscriptions grants you access to all the MasterClass lessons, where you can learn to sing like Mariah Carey or master vocals like Aguilera. This includes more genres, from art to politics.
Does the Class Keep Its Promises
At the beginning of the course, Tim says that this course is for those who love music. Timbaland teaches producing and being extraordinary creatives in the competitive music production industry.
Timbaland MasterClass doesn’t disappoint, as I found myself wanting to watch the MasterClass again. Tim’s energy is infectious, especially when explaining exactly how he comes up with the beat. His enthusiasm and passion for his work is clear to all who watch him in his element.
Timbaland MasterClass: What Others Have Said
I didn’t need to go deep online to find budding reviews of Tim’s MasterClass. The class trailer released by MasterClass seems to have gotten people talking. It indicates that many people were expecting a MasterClass from this talented producer.
You’ll find reviews of people saying that to be successful in producing beats. You have to copy exactly what he says in his MasterClass, for example, copying his drum patterns.
Others are just happy to watch Tim in his element as a producer, especially when he moves to his own beats.
Another user online credits Timbaland’s MasterClass as having made them whole after a long process of trying, presumably producing.
Others understand the importance of Team Timbo and how they help Tim make hit songs and tracks. They are keen on how the team works together to brainstorm ideas and find the right sounds to fit.
Essentials Used in the Timbaland MasterClass
A pen and paper for taking notes are essential tools to have for the MasterClass to note down key points. Prior knowledge on his work may also give you an edge in better understanding Timbaland’s MasterClass. His book, The Emperor of Sound, Co-authored with Veronica Chambers, is one such good tool. Know how Timbaland begins much better as he writes the book as a memoir.
Alternatives to Timbaland MasterClass
Other Music Courses Available on Masterclass
- Danny Elfman’s Masterclass on film scoring
- Armin Van Buuren MasterClass on Dance Music
- Deadmau5 Teaches Electronic Music Production
- Questlove MasterClass on Curation and DJing
- Christina Agulera MasterClass on Singing
- Usher MasterClass on the art of performance
- Ringo Starr MasterClass on Drumming and Creative Collaboration
- Metallica MasterClass on being a band
- Carlos Santana MasterClass on The art and Soul of Guitar
- Tom Morello MasterClass on Electric Guitar
- John Legend MasterClass on Songwriting
Alternatives to MasterClass
Udemy
Udemy is one of the most popular online learning providers, with a massive choice of various classes. The learning platform covers a range of Music courses for beginner and advanced learners.
Coursera
Coursera is another big name in the online courses market, with a lot to offer in music-related fields. It’s a great way to expand your knowledge of the field without spending much money on online learning.
Skillshare
Skillshare focuses on practical courses, with educational videos substituting expensive college courses. The aim is to provide users with marketable skills for finding a job. There are some courses related to creating your own Music as well.
Q&A about Timbaland MasterClass
Blogger | Life-long learner
Bill Tremlon
I’ve spent the last ten years passionately studying various online learning platforms. Udemy, MasterClass, Coursera, and Skillshare are the main ones, but I review lesser-known study tools as well. I test and analyze each course and lesson thoroughly before sharing my research.
Blogger | Life-long learner
Bill Tremlon