How did music workstations combine composition, sampling, and sound processing?

By the end of the 1980s, music workstations emerged as integrated systems that combined digital computer technology, sound synthesis, and sampling into a single platform for composition and processing.1

These workstations unified several key functions:

• Sampling: Musicians could digitize sound waveforms—converting them into numerical sequences—and store them for playback under musical control.1
• Sound Processing: Workstations utilized digital synthesis algorithms to create or manipulate timbres. This allowed for the design of sounds from scratch or the modification of digitized recordings using techniques previously limited to tape studios.1
• Composition: Unlike performance-only instruments, workstations included digital memory that allowed musicians to enter and store complete musical scores.1

By integrating these capabilities, workstations like the Synclavier series provided a comprehensive environment where a composer could perform, process, and arrange music within one system, effectively surpassing the limitations of earlier analog synthesizers and tape-based studio techniques.12