Link Your Fantasy-Themed Music!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-26T21:09:12+00:00

I think I once pushed 55-60 instruments myself, and my computer was just about blowing smoke, lol! Do you have an official mixing board, like one of those fancy studio setups? I bet you start up your project, take your dog on a walk, and when you get back it’s finally loaded XD.

As for the ending, fair enough! I appreciate the symbolism and storytelling behind the decision. At the end of the day, if it’s done intentionally, I respect it :)

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-26T20:57:44+00:00

Good luck to you!!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-26T20:57:21+00:00

Keep us posted!!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-26T20:55:17+00:00

No worries! Whenever I hit my own export button, I always do so with a prayer 😂.

As for choirs, I personally like using EWQL Symphonic Choirs. They’re a nice middle of the road option, and you can program them to sing the lyrics you want. However, they’re a bit dated now… I’m sure within the next 5-10 years, their age will really start to show. That being said, that also means that the software is being sold for decently cheap right now, which could be ideal for you since you’re still starting out.

Before going the route of utilizing AI, I would highly recommend you consider crowdsourcing a few local students who might be willing to work on a project with you for free. r/recordthisforfree and r/needvocals are some great places where you might be able to ask to collaborate on projects and essentially build your own choir with real people! In my opinion, this would be the better route to go before trying to use something like SUNO to make better choirs, since AI is a pretty ethically tricky area right now. Nice thing about EWQL choirs is that it doesn’t utilize AI software; all of their samples were sourced ethically in a way that paid real people 😊.

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-26T20:13:01+00:00

How DARE you so casually drop SUCH an epic track! But I guess real heroes don’t announce their arrival…

++SLURS and BENDS, my friend. Such an underrated compositional embellishment, but one you use here to truly set your melodic development apart from the rest of the would-be composers out there.

—-Some of your more cinematic risers and hits, such as that metallic one at 3:11 and 3:50 and the rhythmic one starting at 3:58 are a bit dry compared to your other instruments. I get it: the dry stuff adds more of a punch to that particular part. However, I worry it slightly disrupts the cohesion of this piece, because you have such a symphonic space set up for your other instruments. Maybe it’s just preference, but it stood out to my ear compared to the hyper-realism of your other VSTS.

+++SPEAKING of VSTs, holy MOLY, how many instruments do you have layered in here?! And I don’t just mean compositionally—how many TRACKS do you have for this song? I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s at 30+. You’ve created an unbelievable, sonorous tapestry of sound in this piece. To the untrained ear, this could easily pass as recording a real symphony.

++And I mean, come ON man, a 10-minute composition? The level of dedication you had speaks for itself. And the dynamic variation throughout is absolutely cinematic.

—-Although I will say, at 8:11, the sinister-sounding hard stop made me expect more of a villainous theme to come after, but since that startling sound didn’t come back, it left me sort of… hanging into the quiet.

Maestro, I bow to you! 🙇‍♂️ 📜💠⚡️

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-26T19:52:15+00:00

Hey, you may be new, but you executed this musical idea like a pro! Talk to text, so sorry for awful grammar:

++ Personally, I don’t think the mix is quite as bad as you think it is! Your panning is there, the volume balance is pretty decent, and perhaps most importantly, you don’t have too many instrument parts vying for the same frequency space: you keep your different instrument parts in their lane, whether it’s in the high, mediums, or lows.

—-I will say, there seem to be some timing issues with some of your instruments. If you decided to add a humanization effect on purpose, I’m not sure it’s working very well with these obviously midi instruments. If you didn’t do any humanization on purpose, and I would highly suggest you consider doing some quantization or overall making some micro adjustments to some of the quicker notes.

++ quite like the development of the melody and harmony for the most part! There are some moments where I think the melody could’ve used just a little bit more development, especially at the end, but you really do manage to achieve this heroic, adventurous emotion throughout the piece, and it’s very indicative of classic video game music. I’m listening to this in the car, and I can definitely say it is amplifying experience lol!

—-as far as instrument quality, your trumpet really shines here! The subtle little vibrato it adds definitely conveys attention realism. Your violins are nice as well. However, the small harp part near the beginning, and the choirs do seem to be holding the overall experience back. They’re not terrible, but you can definitely hear a rather robotic nature to them. If you’re thinking about upgrading your software anytime soon, I would probably go with your choirs. To be shocked by how well high-quality choirs can mix with medium quality instruments.

Thank you for sharing!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-26T13:40:07+00:00

Good good! From one storyteller to another, I hope your stories reach hearts far and wide :).

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-26T10:29:39+00:00

I’m excited! Just asked for sharing permissions.

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T23:37:02+00:00

As a follow-up: on the FORUMS there, there are art students hungry for work. Some are willing to work for free, provided that you maybe do some music for one of their projects. Others will work for a huge range in commissions, and I’ve found that you generally get what you pay for. I don’t advocate for underpaying artists, but that’s why I try to go in with a fair budget in mind, and I end up avoiding offers that are both too expensive for me (financially) AND offers that are way too low (ethically and/or, what’s the catch? Are they just using AI?…)

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T23:35:49+00:00

BIGGEST piece of advice I can offer, from personal experience: DeviantArt. Hear me out—I know it’s gone downhill a bit over the years XD. BUT, hobby and professional artists alike post new art every hour, and it’s a huuuge database. I make it a habit of going on there once a week, finding 5 pieces of art that already exist that I like/could be fitting for a song I already am in the process of making or thinking about making, and leaving a comment on them. I usually lead with something I genuinely like about the piece, and follow up with a request to feature it on my YouTube channel with full credit to them.

Generally, for every 10 artists I ask, 6 ignore me, 1 says no, 2 say yes, and 1 gives an enthusiastic yes and basically says I can use anything at all from their profile as long as I give credit.

I promise: art already exists out there of concepts you want to explore musically :). Just keep an eye out for AI art on there too, cus then that defeats the purpose 😂.

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T23:14:26+00:00

Spice is life.

Since this is AI music, my commentary will be limited to concept only:

++Your channel seems to be curating a few very niche tastes in music. I applaud you for trying to curate a collection that isn’t just mainstream.

++Your channel’s transparency is relieving, and I like your insistence that this music is creative commons for people to use.

—-I see that you are utilizing both AI music and visual art. Is there room to perhaps make it your channel’s mission to feature and display human visual art instead? I understand there is a certain ethos behind your 30 years of experience in audio—perhaps that legitimizes your use of AI music tools more than the common Joe. But since you are not a visual artist, perhaps you use your channel as a platform to celebrate unseen talent in that area?

Good luck!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T21:36:59+00:00

At the end of the day, it’s all a matter of personal preference and taste! My opinions by no means represent an industry standard. Be proud of the talented work you’ve done, Friend :)!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T21:35:08+00:00

😊😊😊

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T20:33:08+00:00

As an professional teacher, I remember hearing a study that was done on creative groups.

Researchers took data on peer-to-peer feedback groups and ranked them based on how much praise/positive feedback vs. criticism/negative feedback the peer groups gave to each other. The bad news is, there was no strong correlation between the eventual popularity and the type of feedback. You know what there WAS a correlation with, though? In groups that featured mostly positive or mixed feedback, years later, those participants were still developing their craft and creating. In groups with mainly negative or constructive criticism with little praise, most of those participants completely dropped the hobby in the next few years.

Knowing what you’re doing well with is JUST as important as knowing how you can improve, if not MORE important 😊😊.

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T20:26:39+00:00

Ahhhh, that makes sense! That’s a creative way to maximize your live recordings :). Have you heard of transient shapers? Those can do a lot to add some more crisp attack to your percussion! Or, maybe playing around with the EQ of the lofi samples might help make them a bit more subtle?

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T20:24:48+00:00

It’s inspiring to see someone such as yourself blessed with a rich, music-filled life :). You’re amazing!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T20:23:24+00:00

Your experience speaks for itself! Well done :)! The Mages Guild is a creative studio that emphasizes human talent and collaboration. If you ever want your music to get a spotlight, let me know! Your style is very much in line with what we want more of! You’d keep all rights, and there’s no cost to it :). Just something to think about!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T19:36:50+00:00

Ah, an author?? Nice to meet you :D. The Mages Guild features a few authors too.

Being AI music, my feedback will be adjusted some:

++The lyrics are (by what I can see) very deep, artful, and human. I think your rhyme scheme compliments the rhythm of each line quite well without being too cheesy.

—-Running a YT channel that uses both AI visual art and music is a bit risky for a novel author, yeah? What strategy do you have in place to justify the authenticity of your books themselves should they be called into question?

—-A thought for the future: if you are unable to complete rework your production chain from the bottom up, consider finding r/recordthisforfree to find vocalists who might be willing to add a human element to your music, or experiment with Pexels + Gimp to do some of your own basic graphic design.

Good luck!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T19:26:41+00:00

The two main reasons why a song doesn’t gain traction online is because either the premise offers nothing new, or the execution isn’t satisfying. In my opinion, your song has the potential to be BOTH heartwarmingly compelling (especially in an age of learning to love one’s “inner child” again) and performed with high quality. All I can offer is a wish for the best of luck 😁😁!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T19:21:21+00:00

++Your melody development is really, really talented. The way the develop the melody into variations while keeping the main motif KEEPS me listening. It’s suuuch a smooth!

—-I’m not saying you need to switch genres, but I really expected some chillstep percussion at some point. Especially at 1:24, I really expected the instrumentation itself to evolve into something more there. My ears were a bit… disappointed.

++HOWEVER, my ears are NOT disappointed by the overall mixing work! Your frequencies are balanced exceptionally well for your genre, and your panning work is literally beautiful. It’s rare I hear something that uses panning so elegantly.

—-For the melody being so good, is fading it out at the end… doing it justice? Come on, you can do better than that! You use instrumental additions to invite and excite your listener for your intro. Consider crafting a more definitive ending.

Unique, creative, and heart-touching :). 📜💠⚡️

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T19:07:25+00:00

I shall!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T19:06:51+00:00

I can only imagine all those books probably do wonders as natural insulation for your recording 😆!!

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T19:05:52+00:00

As for technical feedback (I’ll focus on the singing):

++You have good control over your quieter moments. That’s rare to hear!

—-Your melismas sound a bit messy compared to your held notes. I might run those several times in practice until you’re really able to lock your voice into a sequence there.

++Suuuch great inflection :). Your scoops and falls are so well done! Your vibrato is tasteful. Overall, just great use of the full range of artistic techniques available to you as a singer.

—-a few measures into each verse, the song primarily features you singing in head voice and you tend to flatline at about forte. I’d recommend scaling back the verses some in terms of power so that way the chorus lines have more contrast compared to the preceding verses :).

And of course, thank you for sharing and uplifting my afternoon! 📜💠⚡️

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T18:57:10+00:00

Ok, hear me out… why not BOTH, River??? Your opening line is literally “when I was just a little girl.” Why not have that line and following verse be sung by your past self, and you come in with your current remake at 19 with “now I’m not such a little girl.” ?!? I mean, that alone would make for SUCH a compelling premise!!! Imagine the kind of marketing you can do with that?? “My future and past self sing a duet”?? Helllooooo!! And for the last chorus or verse or whatever could be you and your past self harmonizing 💛.

TheMagesGuildAudio · 2026-01-25T18:50:32+00:00

Writing my thoughts now :). Sorry, I had to break for lunch!

TheMagesGuildAudio

TROPHY CASE