Multi-layer formats are becoming increasingly important in the field of music description. Thanks to their adoption, it is possible to embed into a unique digital document different representations of music contents, multiple in number and potentially heterogeneous in media type. Moreover, these descriptions can be mutually synchronized, thus providing different views of the same information entity with a customizable level of granularity. Standard use cases of multi-layer formats for music address information structuring and support to advanced fruition. The goal of the paper is to demonstrate how suitable multi-layer formats can foster analytical activities in the field of interpretative modelling and expressiveness investigation, discussing both the pedagogical roots and the educational implications of this approach. A use case focusing on the incipit of G. Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 will be presented.