Combining a couple of items from the comments thusfar, I think that multiple tutorial paths that would each automatically load a specific simplified lens could really help a beginner get a handle on the functionality that is most useful to them, with subsequent more advanced tutorials (or other paths) bringing in more advanced functions and their corresponding GUI elements. 
 
The other thing that I've thought about in trying to help beginners or new users get a fundamental grasp of what a DAW is doing that will help them learn on their own more effectively (trying to teach to fish instead of giving them a fish) is the basic idea of signal flow. I think that a lot of older or more experienced users who learned about the basic concepts of audio recording and signal processing through hardware(even just plugging in a chain of guitar fx pedals) take for granted that they came to the world of DAW recording with a basic sense of a signal being sent around to different places and having things done to it, before eventually flowing out and turning into sound coming out of speakers. Hardware makes this idea explicit because there are literal physical wires with electrons flowing (or whatever it is electrons do inside a wire ) from one physical processing unit to aanother. A DAW mirrors this idea virtually, but it's a high-level abstraction that is not quite so literally visible. It's implicit to someone who is familiar with hardware that this is what's happening, but I've seen many users with no hardware experience who are very hazy on this basic idea. To them there's just a rather amorphous box of sounds and somehow different things happen to different sounds, but how that arrangement is organized is unclear. Maybe you just set a reverb down next to a snare drum and the "mixer" stirs it up until the snare has some reverb mixed in it? That sounds goofy to an even somewhat experienced user, but seriously, without a basic grasp of signal flow as a fundamental concept, how would you know how that's accomplished?

I think that tutorials or lessons that make that idea completely explicit from the most basic level is necessary for some users. A complicated diagram based on an electrical schematic diagram isn't going to be helpful for a lot of people. Just a tutorial about playing back a wave file and turning up the volume with the mixer fader to start with (with very basic diagrams).
 
"In a tape machine, the tape with magnetic information passes over a playback head which reads it  sends an electrical signal through a wire to a little amp with a fader to control the volume. In a DAW, the clip with a waveform visible is like a strip of tape. As the playback cursor passes over it, it sends the information to a virtual little amp with a GUI fader to control the volume. Load up the playback tutorial. Press the play button. As the cursor moves over the example waveform clip, raise and lower the fader for channel 1. The information in the waveform clip is being "sent" to channel 1 of the mixer, and the fader is "processing" that signal to change the volume of the signal."


Then from there add a second clip on another track to demonstrate that the two signals are independent from each other (separate signal paths). Then show how they are combined into the master buss (the signals are merged or "mixed" into one signal path). Now what happens if we "insert" a reverb into the signal path? Or if we "send" part of the signal somewhere else in addition to the mixer fader?

That level of simplicity may seem silly to a lot of users, but I really think that level of explanation is necessary for some users who have no familiarity with hardware at all, or with more complex things like an advanced mixer console. I've seen users who were greatly confused by all these myriad possibilities make headway once they grasp that, so that they can start to experiment and solve problems on their own by applying that very basic knowledge.

I posted a long reply, and apparently because I edited it the spam filter decided to eat it. This is very frustrating, and this is not the first time this has happened with one of my treads or replies, really makes me not want to waste my time with this.
 
EDIT: Restored now, thanks!

rmfegley
 
The other thing that I've thought about in trying to help beginners or new users get a fundamental grasp of what a DAW is doing that will help them learn on their own more effectively (trying to teach to fish instead of giving them a fish) is the basic idea of signal flow. I think that a lot of older or more experienced users who learned about the basic concepts of audio recording and signal processing through hardware(even just plugging in a chain of guitar fx pedals) take for granted that they came to the world of DAW recording with a basic sense of a signal being sent around to different places and having things done to it, before eventually flowing out and turning into sound coming out of speakers. Hardware makes this idea explicit because there are literal physical wires with electrons flowing (or whatever it is electrons do inside a wire ) from one physical processing unit to aanother. A DAW mirrors this idea virtually, but it's a high-level abstraction that is not quite so literally visible. It's implicit to someone who is familiar with hardware that this is what's happening, but I've seen many users with no hardware experience who are very hazy on this basic idea. To them there's just a rather amorphous box of sounds and somehow different things happen to different sounds, but how that arrangement is organized is unclear. Maybe you just set a reverb down next to a snare drum and the "mixer" stirs it up until the snare has some reverb mixed in it? That sounds goofy to an even somewhat experienced user, but seriously, without a basic grasp of signal flow as a fundamental concept, how would you know how that's accomplished?

I think that tutorials or lessons that make that idea completely explicit from the most basic level is necessary for some users. A complicated diagram based on an electrical schematic diagram isn't going to be helpful for a lot of people. Just a tutorial about playing back a wave file and turning up the volume with the mixer fader to start with (with very basic diagrams).

I think that is a very good observation.  To a new user, the DAW PC is just a "black box" with sounds inside, and maybe an audio interface and some speakers, or headphones.
 
I think in addition to what you have suggested, is to integrate a "Signal Flow Diagram" view to the DAW, that shows instantly where all inputs, outputs, instruments, effects, busses, sends, etc are routing to.
 
I think even the expert users could appreciate a signal flow diagram.  Then just add Bit's suggestion for a project database and you're really cookin! 

Some pre-requestites are assumed for anyone using DAW software:

• Musical ability
• Computer skills
• Some basic understanding of audio hardware & signal routing
• Some basic theoretical knowledge about digital audio

The more the userbase keeps expanding, the higher the percentage of users not meeting all the criteria.

Familiarity with computers is one factor that many of us probably take for granted. Before I started using Sonar I already had experience using complex software applications (unrelated to music) and was adept at using a mouse for precision technical work. I had an IT coordinator role as part of my job. I had built 2 computers and had taken some IT courses. I had also done some voluntary work developing databases. But even with all this behind me I still found Sonar daunting the first time I launched it. It must be horrendously difficult for those without basic computer skills.
 

Kev999
Some pre-requestites are assumed for anyone using DAW software:

• Musical ability
• Computer skills
• Some basic understanding of audio hardware & signal routing
• Some basic theoretical knowledge about digital audio

The more the userbase keeps expanding, the higher the percentage of users not meeting all the criteria.

While pre-requisites may have applied at one time, that bird has flown as it applies to the general public ...
 
Just look at the iPad apps for making music that are available now.  Developers now are not marketing only towards the "experienced" group.  I believe that there will always be a DAW market for professional studios and engineers, but that is likely to be a slimmer percentage of the overall creative music software sales.

abacab

Kev999
Some pre-requestites are assumed for anyone using DAW software:

• Musical ability
• Computer skills
• Some basic understanding of audio hardware & signal routing
• Some basic theoretical knowledge about digital audio

The more the userbase keeps expanding, the higher the percentage of users not meeting all the criteria.

While pre-requisites may have applied at one time, that bird has flown as it applies to the general public ...
 
Just look at the iPad apps for making music that are available now.  Developers now are not marketing only towards the "experienced" group.  I believe that there will always be a DAW market for professional studios and engineers, but that is likely to be a slimmer percentage of the overall creative music software sales.

None of those are really "prerequisites." Processors continue to get more powerful, making it ever more possible for people to use tablets and even phones to record stuff, without any musical training or knowledge of signal processing. My first smartphone has more RAM and storage and processing power than my first PC. There are already successful recordings done entirely on laptops in bedrooms. If it hasn't already happened, I predict soon we will see hit music recorded and mixed entirely on a smartphone. It won't sound like what we're used to, but it will sell, and soon there will be producers and artists who have never used a computer-based DAW.

It depends on your intention but system configuration is more important than it will do approach now. Not all off the shelf pc's or indeed Macs will make the grade.

Hence why serious users should consider buying a specialist system or getting one built if they can't themselves.

Ideally the workstation should suit the needs of the individual and then the software selected can take advantage of it.

abacab

Kev999
Some pre-requestites are assumed for anyone using DAW software:

• Musical ability
• Computer skills
• Some basic understanding of audio hardware & signal routing
• Some basic theoretical knowledge about digital audio

The more the userbase keeps expanding, the higher the percentage of users not meeting all the criteria.

While pre-requisites may have applied at one time, that bird has flown as it applies to the general public ...
 
Just look at the iPad apps for making music that are available now.  Developers now are not marketing only towards the "experienced" group.  I believe that there will always be a DAW market for professional studios and engineers, but that is likely to be a slimmer percentage of the overall creative music software sales.

 
Sad but true. OK, so maybe my pre-requisites don't apply to all DAWs (past, present and future). But I believe that they are needed for anyone who want to do more than scratch the surface using Sonar or similar DAWs aimed at professionals and serious hobbyists.

DAWs consist of myriad features packed under menus scattered around the GUI and a manual describing each feature.
 
Useless.
 
We need "How do I...?" guides. Because users want to achieve specific goals.
 
For newbies:
 
How do I connect my interface?
How do I record my voice and / or guitar / piano?
How do I rap with loops?
How do I construct a song with audio clips?
My recording is done. How do I make a CD/MP3/etc.
 
Each must be detailed, not timidly superficial, to get users up-to-speed in understanding SONAR's features. Introduce concepts like Musical Time, Snap To/By etc.
 
Then there's How do I...? for the next level.  
 
How do I rearrange my song?
How do I add drums/bass/strings?
How can I make my song sound more like a professional recording?
How do I set the tempo to my guitar strumming (scook has a great tip which I keep forgetting)//EDIT: it was from brundlefly
How do I sync my live recording to a click (I keep forgetting this, too)
- you can use audiosnap
- you can use melodyne
 
Then there's the experienced user's How do I...?
 
Craig's tips are good examples (with descriptive titles rather than clever ones, if I may be so bold) and all the information on any number of videos and many often-lost forum postings.