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Music Has a Structure. Your Presentation Should Too.

January 27, 2011    |    Nancy Duarte

In celebration of what would have been Mozart’s 255 birthday, here’s a look at the sonata form of Eine kleine Nachtmusik visualized.

The sonata form in classical music has a similar structure to the presentation form. A sonata has standard “rules” to follow; yet each sonata sounds unique. Just as the presentation form is a guide, but it pays to be flexible within the form.

You’ll see a clear beginning (exposition), middle (development), and end (recapitulation) in the sonata form. Also, contrast keeps the sonata interesting, just like in a presentation. Sonatas have tonal, dynamic, and textural contrasts, which are labeled along the left-hand side in this visualization, made by my son, Anthony.

Turn up your speakers and enjoy!

Mozart Sparkline from Duarte Design on Vimeo.

As an extra bonus for all the fans of beautifully visualized classical music, I came across this other example of Dubussy’s Arabesque #1, piano solo. Looks pretty similar to the presentation form once again.

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  • Ertelg 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
    This is such a wonderful example of how speeches should be. As a music buff, as well as someone who is fond of public speaking and PR, I find this very useful and practical. This is a simple way to learn how speeches should flow from beginning to middle and finally to the grand finale.
  • Nancy Duarte 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
    I loved putting this together 'cuz I worked with my son on it. You're right, music and presentations are similar in structure. Thanks for the note!
  • Patrick 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
    Hi Nancy,

    I'm curious about your use of the term "sparkline". As far as I know, the term was first defined by Edward Tufte to mean "intense, simple, word-sized graphics". Your definition, both here and in "Resonate" isn't given. But the examples seem much more like timing diagrams, not like sparklines; at least as defined by Tufte.

    This may be a bit of a touchy issue considering the ongoing debate about Microsoft's use of the term. http://www.edwardtufte.com/bbo...

    Just curious about your definition of "sparkline".
  • Nancy Duarte 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
    Hi Patrick,

    I do attribute the use of the word Sparkline to Edward Tufte in the intro of Resonate. It was an oversight not to repeat the attribution in this blog post. Tufte's definition is "word-sized" yet samples he shows run up to the full length of his book (17" long).

    In the book Resonate where I analyze speeches, they take on a similar form as the ones in Tufte's book Beautiful Evidence on page 52 to 53. I think the squabble with Microsoft was the lack of attribution. Being a huge Tufte fan, I wouldn't want that to happen.

    Thanks!
    Nancy
  • Dom 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
    How totally awesome. Thanks for sharing, Nancy. As a musician and a communicator, this really floats my boat. Dom
  • Nancy Duarte 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
    @Janet, yes, I admit...my son is AMAZING! Since he's a musician and not an artist, he drew a rendition of it in his Mac drawing app. Then my artist tidied it up. He was the one who mapped the audio in the video app. The timing features of PPT weren't precise enough to visualize it correctly
  • Janet 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
    Your son is amazing. Were both videos done in PowerPoint?
  • Adam 2 comments collapsed Collapse Expand
    Nancy, looks really interesting, but the video's not playing any chance you could re-post it or make it 'public'?
  • Paula Tesch 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
    Hi, Adam--just made the video public, you should to watch now. Thanks for the heads up!
  • Joni SOAP 1 comment collapsed Collapse Expand
    Nancy, what a nice message! We always beleive in the power of music as a way to tell a story. We realy can find many components of a good presentation within a structure of a music. Your son did a very good job!
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