Trevor Baron is a piano and theory teacher with years of experience and the creator of Illustrious Sound—a blog-style magazine and video journal shaped by student questions and a love of learning. He shares tools, reflections, and experiments from his own path into music production and home recording.
The DAWLESS Dream (And Why It Wasn’t Mine) One of the goals I was quietly chasing during my studio makeover was the idea of a standalone, DAWLESS setup — a studio where the AKAI Force could act as the central brain, controlling everything else around it, including...
Buying Into a Promise: Living With Evolving Hardware Have you ever purchased a piece of gear that looked promising, but wasn’t quite finished — something you bought not for what it was, but for what the manufacturer promised it would be? I suspect many of us have...
Clutter vs. Comfort in the Studio One thing I’ve learned about myself over the years is that I simply can’t work in a cluttered studio. A cramped studio? Absolutely. A packed studio? No problem. But clutter — that’s where I draw the line. During my studio redesign,...
When Gear Becomes “Legacy” Later in my studio redesign, I started thinking about building a stand for the AKAI Advance49 — a keyboard controller that, as it turns out, is no longer in production. That thought led me down a familiar path. The Korg Prologue? No...
Turn It Off and On Again Sometimes things just don’t work. That’s the magic of turning the power switch off and on again. One of the issues I ran into during my studio redesign wasn’t the gear itself — it was my attitude. Somewhere along the way, I started...
The Knowledge Curve I Didn’t See Coming One thing I wasn’t prepared for—though I really should have been—was just how much knowledge a hardware studio demands. As my studio redesign began to spiral (in the best and worst ways), gear kept arriving at a pace that was...
Why I Chose Hardware (Even When Software Makes More Sense) First, I want to be absolutely clear: I’m ecstatic about my studio’s transformation from a software-based studio to a hardware-based one. I’ve enjoyed every step of the redesign process. While I still...
Repurposing Old Gear: Giving Controllers a Second Life Throughout my studio redesign, there’s been a small thread running quietly in the background. It was never a major theme of the build, but it kept resurfacing often enough that it’s worth talking about:...
Rethinking Workflow, Gear, and What It’s All For In my previous post, I wrote about working outside of your comfort zone and mentioned how that led me to purchasing the AKAI Force and Native Instruments Maschine+. That decision didn’t come out of nowhere. It was...
Working Outside My Comfort Zone Working outside of my comfort zone is not something I’m particularly known for. I don’t like change much. Change inside my studio—new gear, new toys, new ideas—I love. Change elsewhere? Not so much. As I’ve mentioned in previous...
The creative divisions of Bach To Basics Inc., each rooted in music education and inspired by the interests of my students—from teaching and publishing to recording and studio learning.
Live online piano and theory lessons for students of all ages—personalized and taught worldwide via Zoom through my teaching studio, Bach To Basics Music. Visit Site
My independent music label for sharing recordings, creative experiments, and behind-the-scenes studio work—often tied to lessons in recording and music production. Visit Site
A blog-style magazine for home studio learners and curious creatives—featuring real-world tutorials, tools, and discoveries inspired by my students and teaching experience. Visit Site
A personal space where I share my work as a composer and orchestrator—alongside study notes, sketches, and insights into learning music through composition. Visit Site
Educational resources and sheet music for students and teachers—designed, tested, and self-published based on real classroom and studio use. Visit Site
Each issue of Illustrious Sound brings together the blog articles you see here into a curated, downloadable PDF magazine. Whether you’re a music teacher, student, or just love learning about the creative side of music and audio, this free magazine is a great way to dive deeper. No email signup required—just click and enjoy.