Arts & Entertainment, Music, Science & Tech
Song Origins: “Are You That Somebody?”
Lesson time 09:38 min
Tim, Static Major, and Aaliyah had less than 24 hours to write “Are You That Somebody?” In this lesson, Tim explains how they did it. He also teaches subtle production techniques for turning good songs into great ones.
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Topics include: Anchoring the Groove • Find a Creative Family
Preview
If I, if I let you know, you can't tell nobody. I'm talking 'bout nobody. - "Are You That Somebody," man, that was a song that was the spirit of the moment. It was for a soundtrack called "Doctor Dolittle." And I remember we had to come up with a song by 11 o'clock the next day. So it was at night the other day-- I mean, the day before. And it was me, Static and Aaliyah all in the studio. And I was just going through sound. So let's play the track. I'll show you. [MUSIC - AALIYAH, "ARE YOU THAT SOMEBODY"] (SINGING) Dirty South, uh-huh, can y'all really feel me? - Stop. So I had a sound say, , just one little note. So I took it, and played it on the keyboard to get that melody the same way. Fede showed you how he manipulated a guitar sound with the EBow. It's the same way. I started off at a slow tempo first. I said, . But the extra notes came later. Like, it was . Then I took it and sped it all the way up to, like, about-- I don't know-- 145 or-- I don't know-- at that time. But it gave it that . Because it was actually the sequence of the ASR-10 didn't-- when I put quantize, it didn't quantize it the way I was doing it. So it gave it that . I was like, well, it's kinda dope. And then I just kept it, so let's play. [MUSIC - AALIYAH, "ARE YOU THAT SOMEBODY"] (SINGING) --Coast, feel me. Say what? Dirty South-- - See? (SINGING) Here we go. Can y'all really feel me? - That was right. (SINGING) Baby girl. East Coast. - Right. That was wrong. (SINGING) Dirty South, dirty, dirty, can y'all really feel me? - So it allowed me to do the drum around that. I did the drum with a-- (SINGING) D-- d-- dirty, dirty, can y'all really feel me? East Coast. - It allowed me to create around that guitar sound. So when I created the drums, and the guitar gave me that kind of cadence of the rhythm , I got the drum . So the other polyrhythm, that , that did that part. So what I did, once I got that rhythm, I went back into the mic booth and said . I added my mouth elements on top of the drum. And that just gave it that sweet, sonic sound that I call feeling. Here we go. Push play. [MUSIC - AALIYAH, "ARE YOU THAT SOMEBODY"] (SINGING) I've been watching you like the hawk-- - Now, her voice was the icing on the cake. (SINGING) I pray. I pray. Boy, I promise you, if we-- - And Static writing the way Static wrote to the guitar was so-- it was-- as you hear him, the background. But his melody, he gave it the melody, so I was like, yes. We getting somewhere. This feels good. Then when he did this part, he said-- (SINGING) If I, if I let you know-- - He said-- (SINGING) You can't tell nobody. I'm talking 'bout nobody. - So stop right there. So when it comes to the hook, if you notice the beat is three-- probably three sounds right there in my mou...
About the Instructor
Grammy-winning music producer Timbaland takes you behind the boards to teach you his process for creating iconic tracks with artists like Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, and Aaliyah. In his first-ever online class, learn how to collaborate with vocalists, layer new tracks, and create hooks that stick. Step into Timbaland’s studio and learn from one of the industry’s most innovative hit makers.
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Timbaland
Step inside the production studio with Timbaland. In his first-ever online class, Tim teaches his process for creating infectious beats and making sonic magic.
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