Exploded view

I recently saw a talk that compared how-to instructions that used exploded-view diagrams with instructions that used step-by-step illustrations. Needless to say, each has its own advantages.

The step-by-step is great for novices, since it leaves nothing to chance. But the exploded-view approach gives you leeway to try different things, within constraints.

As I was watching the talk, I started wondering whether the exploded-view approach could be applied to different domains. For example, what about musical scores?

We generally think of a musical score as a linear prescription. A score starts on the first measure, and ends on the last. Your job as a musician is to get from the former to the latter, with latitude to vary your playing style for expressiveness.

But what if a score were more in the nature of an exploded-view diagram? What if you could, when playing a musical piece, feel free to visit different parts of the score in varying order, as long as you respected the relationships between the parts?

I realize that this approach might be more difficult both for composer and performer, but it would certainly open up possibilities.

A play could be constructed the same way, or a novel, or a poem.

We already experience some forms of art in this way. After all, when we walk into a well architected house, enjoying the transition from kitchen to living room, or from sitting room to front hall, our exploration is not a linear journey, but something more flexible — essentially, an exploded view.