But what IS "workflow"?

[Scotrick]

yeah, this workflow thing can easily be seen on college campuses, where I currently splend my time taking classes... an above post mentioned how different people take different paths to arrive at the same destination... this is actually an entire branch of architectural/landscape design, and it's all about the sidewalks... when someone designs a building and the surrounding grounds, he puts in some sidewalks, trying to anticipate the ways that people are going to walk to and fro around his building... but what's interesting is to actually look at the grounds, where you can see sidewalks that work, and then ones that don't where instead, students have trod on the grass marking their own most effective ways to get from here to there... and sometimes a designer includes what to my eyes seems an obviously stupid sidewalk just because it seems to match the building better, and so the grass is full of what resemble ant tracks as students make their own ways... this whole thing is similar to software, and sometimes we can, if the software is flexible enough, follow the path the programmers intended or we can make our paths, but sometimes we run into what amounts to a wall, where we've been making our own path and then come to a point where we can't continue... we turned left around the english building because there was a space there but instead of coming out at the quad we end up facing a brick wall...

and all of these 'sciences,' include workflow and ergonomics and aesthetics to try and create something that's easy to use, is easy on your body, and looks great as well...

as you can imagine, it's a bitch to try and write or design something that makes everyone happy...

at least in the software you can issue a patch, at my last school they had to redo the bathrooms of a brand new building at great expense and construction mess because the ones that were supposedly for 'handicap,' use, accesible to wheelchairs, for example, were failures because it turned out that while the sinks looked cool, the handles were too far away from the edge so that from a wheelchair it was impossible to turn on the water

[donkey tugger]

It's some shite computer system Barclays bank used to use for scanning mortgage applications. It never worked properly and stank of piss. Look at the paradigms on that!

[CypherOne]

workflow, on a computer, is to me that i can do what i want in the fastest time possible.

that's it. no need for an essay here.

[Mighty_Hero]

for me, workflow is going from start to something the easiest. Could also be described as how you work in something, and what works for you.
That's actually alot harder to describe then I thought it would be

[bugs]

I view workflow as procedure. What the computer has given composers is procedural options. You can work on one piece in one manner and a second in a second manner if you choose--the computer doesn't care and will do both with equal efficency depending on the capacity of the person operating it. Sometimes I generate material extemporaneously, recording MIDI directly into the sequencer--then editing it, sometimes even generating score. Somethings I start with score. Sometimes I use random generation. sometimes there is very careful detailed pre-compositional planning. It's all available. A buffet of techniques. I find myself using numerous procedures in the same piece. I can carefully craft a random sounding passage, but nothing generates randomness like a random number generator. Different strokes for different situations. Have a ball! When a baker make cup cakes, he/she careful measures out ingredients (very important in baking), when the cupcake is cool and frosted, sometimes sprinkles are applied. Here the baker is not so careful, they are just "sprinkled" on.
It would be a little anal retentive, time consuming and counter-productive to carefully place each sprinkle with a pair of tweezers. Workflow.

Then there is the macro of workflow--file storage options, naming conventions, etc--again the project can dictate or you may wish to systemize macro-flow across the board for more effect studio management. More workfow.

Workflow is really a management issue. There is an old saying relating to creativity--10% inspiration, 90% organization. This is a good dictum--undoubtably German in origin. Workflow addresses the 90%.

[munchkin]

workflow - how to skive out of work by doing every thing as quickly as possible so you can put the kettle on and your feet up.

[SQ4]

what is workflow, what is exactly is a woman?
big mysteries my friend.

for me a program has a good workflow when I am happy using it. (the same goes for a woman, replacing the word "using" by "enjoying" that is )

[PaulSC]

"A program has good woman when I am happy enjoying it"

[Sascha Franck]

I like programs that feel like instruments rather than like tools to me. Doesn't have to do anything with available features - they should only be available in a natural way.
To me this often means that I don't like using too much menu-mousing. That's why I fell in love with Logic once, but never liked Cubase much (even if I started with it and used it for a long time). But of course that's just my opinion and YMMV a lot.

[SQ4]

"A program has good woman when I am happy enjoying it"

There's something wrong with your "Replacing" routine...try a different workflow.

[DaveL60]

Wow: when I asked the question this afternoon, I didn't expect to find quite this much volume this evening! Thanks to all for providing much food for thought.

"A program has good woman when I am happy enjoying it"

Thanks, PaulSC for a good laugh. Most welcome at this point.

yeah, this workflow thing can easily be seen on college campuses... but what's interesting is to actually look at the grounds, where you can see sidewalks that work, and then ones that don't where instead, students have trod on the grass marking their own most effective ways to get from here to there

We had paths like that on my college campus. Someone once posted a signed about the trivial distance saved by cutting a chord across an oval, but people did it anyway. Someone one put up doors on either end of the man-made cutoff, and people would go through the doors to use the (slightly) shorter path.

Workflow, for me, is the shortest path from an idea to having that idea sitting in my sequencer.

I think this comment, more than any other, points out that my confusion may mostly be internal: I've not figured out what works for me. I've played around with

• ACID Pro 4.0 (primary tool at this point)
• Jazz++
• Computer Muzys
• n-Track
• Tracktion (at least looked at the demo)
• Quartz Audio Freeware (ditto)

but I haven't really sat back and thought about how I want to / like to / need to work. It is certainly the case that my progress on my current track is slow, but I dunno if that's inherent to me or if I'm (subconcsiouly) fighting my tools.

Time for some navel contemplation, I guess. Thanks to all for interesting discussion, and please don't feel shy about adding further ideas!

DaveL

[Steven West]

Personally, I hate these cute packaged 'catch phrases' coming all over everything. Everything has to be 'exigently defined' now - which like you Dave, seems to create more confussion and aprehension when faced with it. It spreads like a unchecked cancer through education and commercial institutions these days, and was originally started by the military. Something like a 'Mobile Lead Inscriber Untensil'... Nothing but a 'pencil' in militarise. When I worked for this 'big information' company, I was the technical doofus - so I was in the 'Systems Dept.' handling the companies media and peripherals. Then it was adapted is 'IT Dept.', and then just 'IT' pretty well... I was 'Information Technologies of a Information company that dealt little with IT info, but more on media and business documents that developed and dealt with IT info and education.'

So to me, to stay clean from 'English Cancer'
"Systems" = Geek who cleans muffin crumbs from PC's
"Projects" = Jobs to do or else you're fired.
"Workflow" = How much of an asshole is your teacher/boss/device to deal with.

[Lunch Money]

Yeah, don't get too hung up on it.

I still like Igor's point-- get yourself a sequencer, and just work with it until you know where stuff is and how to use it. You will have achieved workflow.

If you've tried a lot of options, and none of them have really "jumped out" at you, then you might be better off cutting your losses and just getting a program that has the features you need. The workflow may not be instantaneous as some users have experienced, but it WILL come. Worst case scenario, you become SO familiar with your sequencer that you realize its 'workflow' isn't suiting you anymore and then you'll have enough knowledge to switch to something else.

Greg

[AndrewSimon]

I am sorry but you are all wrong!

Work does NOT flow

It's not liquid

[spaceman]

I am sorry but you are all wrong!

Work does NOT flow

It's not liquid

how about a very cold gas?