“You can have great footage, but without the right music it never hits the same way. The soundtrack is often what makes a video work.”
When you land on a Madame Myriad video, you know it’s hers. She’s built a dedicated YouTube following by crafting an instantly recognizable brand, and a lot of that comes down to the music she uses. Sound isn’t just an afterthought for Madame Myriad, it’s part of her creative plan.
In this Uppbeat interview, she breaks down her approach to using music: how she chooses tracks by vibe, organizes her library and controls pacing in the edit.
- Decide the atmosphere before the camera rolls
- Use music to make your payoffs land
- Build your own go-to vibe folders
- Control your pacing with the tracks you use
- Learn from the creators you love
1. Be clear on the atmosphere you want your video to have
Before Madame Myriad even thinks about hunting for a track, she gets clear on the atmosphere she wants her finished video to have. That vibe becomes the brief for the pacing, the shots she prioritizes, and the way she wants the final sequence to land.
MM: "When I’m filming the results of a craft project, I’ll know in my head what mood each project evokes. The music I choose will always be based on that, the atmosphere I want to give the video.”
Choosing music isn’t about what genre she feels like using, or what’s trending. It’s more the practical question of which track creates the mood she’s aiming for, especially where the video’s payoff needs to hit. Often she’s already got an idea of the specific ingredients that will achieve the atmosphere she’s after.
MM: “For example, my scene might need to be haunting, or really uplifting and inspirational, or magical and slow with a whimsical feeling. That then gives me a rough idea of the sound, the pace and the kind of instruments I want in it.”
If you can name the mood you’re building before you touch the edit, the track search gets faster and your finished video will feel more intentional too. Because the audio is doing a clear job, not just filling space.
Madame Myriad’s Key Takeaway:
Decide the feeling first. If you know the atmosphere you’re aiming for before you film, your music choices stop being guesswork and your edit starts feeling more intentional.
2. Use music to make key moments stand out
It’s easy to think of music as a finishing touch, added right at the end once your visuals are done. Madame Myriad treats it differently. Music for her is what makes the key parts of her video land with viewers.
MM: “I'm usually disorganized in the sense that I will have made and filmed the entire video before I look for soundtracks. But then the music is the final piece that makes the finished video.”
One way Madame Myriad creates impact is when she reveals the results of her projects. When she made a Victorian corselet, she paired the reveal montage with a folky violin track that instantly pulls you into that era. Deliberate choices like this are what make a video’s payoff feel so satisfying.
If your reveal feels underwhelming, you might just need music that actually carries the mood you’re trying to deliver.
Madame Myriad’s Key Takeaway:
If you want your content to land with a real payoff, don’t treat music as a last-minute extra. The soundtrack is often the difference between footage that looks fine and a sequence that actually feels something.
3. Build vibe folders so you never search from scratch
This is where Madame Myriad’s process gets practical. Instead of starting from zero every time she edits, she does focused music hunts and saves tracks by vibe. This means when she’s mid-project she can find a track that fits quickly, rather than losing momentum by searching.
MM: “I often go on specific hunts for different vibes. I want stuff that feels like it's from the '70s, music that feels whimsical and Halloweeny, or eerie and scary."
Over time, saving tracks turns into a library she can actually use at speed. This looks like folders built around the moods she returns to again and again, but also a default set of tracks that work across her channel no matter what she’s making. That’s what keeps her sound consistent even when the visuals change.
MM: “I even have a folder labeled 'Myriad Core Tracks', my standard selections that work across every single video. Sometimes with themed videos, if I've used up all my theme soundtracks, I'll go to the core folder and just grab a core one.”
Once you have a library like Madame Myriad’s, you might find that music actually sparks your next video idea: “Sometimes I see a folder's been sat there for so long and feel I need to come up with a project so I can use those soundtracks, because I'm dying to use them!”
If you want to build this habit without juggling a bunch of separate folders, Uppbeat’s Boards feature is designed for exactly this. You can save your own vibe folders that mix music, sound effects, and motion graphics in one place, so when you’re starting a new edit, you’ve already got a shortlist you can come back to and build from.
Madame Myriad’s Key Takeaway:
Organize your music like you’ll need it at short notice, because at some point you will. Vibe folders keep your edits fast and consistent, while a core tracks folder helps your channel develop a signature sound.
4. Control the pacing of your content with your track choices
For Madame Myriad, music is one of the easiest ways to control the pace of a video. When the beat is moving, your edit moves with it.
MM: "The most important thing I prioritize is finding music with faster beats that keep the flow of the video going. Across my whole channel, I think there are maybe two soundtracks that are slower. I use slow tracks very sparingly.”
This isn’t a rule for everyone, it’s just what matches the style and energy of Madame Myriad’s channel. When she picks her tracks, she treats audio as an important part of the creative process.
MM: “For the main section of any video, matching the soundtrack to the footage is pretty much the last step. First, I’ll block in what soundtracks I want and get them to the right lengths, then I’ll do a second pass to adjust the volumes.”
This is why Madame Myriad’s videos feel like they move with purpose. The tracks she picks aren’t there to make everything frantic, but instead keep the video moving so the viewer never has time to drift.
Madame Myriad’s Key Takeaway:
If you want your edits to feel tighter, choose tracks that match the pace you’re aiming for. Then give audio its own pass so the music supports the video instead of competing with it.
5. Learn the audio language of creators you already love
If you’re still figuring out what your videos should sound like, Madame Myriad’s advice is to draw inspiration from your own feed. By listening with intention you’ll start to understand how audio can be used in different ways.
MM: “If there are creators where you really resonate with their content, pay attention to the soundtracks they've got going on in the background and how they shape the mood of the video.”
One of the most useful creative choices you can borrow from other creators is the role you want music to play. Do the creators you admire use sound to drive the edit, or in a more refined way that isn’t immediately obvious? Take inspiration and see how you might use music in your own content.
MM: “Ask yourself whether you want music to be something really subtle and in the background of your video, maybe to the point where people don't even register it's there. Or do you want to use music to be front and center, so it’s creating a certain energy level.”
Finding your sound isn’t something you lock in once and never touch again. As your style changes, your pacing changes and your music choices will shift with it.
MM: "I've definitely gone through trial and error, and it’s a constant experiment. It’s always going to change as you grow.”
The more you pay attention to what audio is doing in the creators you admire, the faster you’ll find what works for you and what doesn’t.
Madame Myriad’s Key Takeaway:
Study audio like it’s part of a creator’s style, not a background detail. Experiment until your music matches your personality and pacing, then save what works so your sound stays consistent.
Start using music more intentionally
If you take one thing from Madame Myriad’s process, it’s that the atmosphere works best when it’s planned and easy to repeat. Pick a mood before you start, build a small set of core tracks that match your pace, then create a few vibe folders so you’re never searching from scratch.
The goal is to spend less time stuck thinking “what track works here?”, so you can stay focused on the bit you actually enjoy, making the project and telling the story.
If searching for the right track slows you down, set yourself up with a library you can search by vibe. Uppbeat’s library of copyright-free music makes it quick to find something that fits, so you can move on with the edit.
