Independent Research Entry- Timbaland

Timothy Z. Mosley also known as “Timbaland” has had a great impact on all genres of music. He has been recording, composing, and producing for about sixteen years now. Creating music in many genres such as; rock, R&B, hip-hop, folk, and Middle Eastern music. Timbaland has had great impact on music because he created a sound of his own; He calls it the “junkyard sound”. Timbaland was like any other musician in the world, he used the same musical instruments that most American musician used. One day he grew tired of hearing the same exact instruments in every song, it was at that point he started his search for a new sound. He eventually found it with the help of household objects and foreign instruments. Timbaland also realized the musical significance of nature sounds. He found a way to fuse a sample of a baby crying and an elephant into his creations. He quickly became known for his extensive sound library and his unique sounds. Which was very good because no other person on earth could sound like him or copy his style. They he started a style that his calls the “junkyard sound”. The Junkyard sound is when you take things that you would find in a junkyard, like a glass bottle and a stick. Then you use the two items to make a rhythm, and then you record it. Because it isn’t a musical instrument when you hear the recorded loop it will sound very unique. Timbaland would later add percussion and other musical instruments to create a full song but the driving force of the song would be like no other. Some technical innovations that Timbaland has done are creating a handheld video game that allows the players to create their own musical compositions. The game has a built in sequencer that allows the users to place samples from Timbaland’s sound library, in order to create a musical sequence. This innovation is both entertaining and inspirational. It is very fun to challenge yourself to see what you can create. But it is also inspiring to see a young child playing this game and suddenly realized, that they want to be a music producer when they grown up. This was definitely a great innovation because the average person doesn’t realize that music could turn into a career until they’re in their teens. Now, children as young as four years old can start building the foundation for their music career.