This article explores two fairly independent questions on the psychological and cultural aspects of music listening, focusing on music-evoked imagery in a therapeutic context: 1) Is imagery evoked by listening to selected classical music from the Western tradition always and only determined by culture, or can universal aspects of the imagery be observed and identified?; 2) Can imagery evoked by classical music from the Western tradition faciltate modes of surrender in listeners from Western cultures (in which a hypothesized universal, deeply human wish to surrender is often buried in culturally influenced psychological modes and scripts of control and self-centeredness)?
The first question is explored in a literature review with focus on listerners’ experience of music (programs) used in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (GIM), a receptive music therapy model known worldwide. The second question is studied through an explorative study of non-clinical participants’ experiences of selected GIM music programs constructed with the specific purpose of facilitating transpersonal experiences. A brief definition of ’the process of surrender’ is given, with focus on its connection to relational theory and contemporary developmental psychology, and with emphasis on concepts of recogition, difference, attunement and the process of becoming a subject as ingredients in mental health. The surrendering process is related to elements in Western classical music, and results from the study are presented, based on analysis of session transcripts and interviews with the participants. The literature review points to the existence of universal elements in the imagery experiences of listeners with different cutural backgrounds. The exploratory study supports the potential of specific music to facilitate experiences of surrender in Western listeners.