(^) Chapter 5. Present Moments:
A New Program for Guided Imagery and Music Therapy
Based on Art Music of the 20th and 21st Centuries.
Research questions
Is it possible to create a GIM program on the basis of art music from the 20th and 21st Centuries?
What are the criteria for music selections included in such a program?
Introduction
”What is ’music’ to one person’s ears is often offensive to another’s.”
Many music listeners will agree with this statement by neuroscientist Robert Zatorre (2005:315).
Some of these music listeners may feel profound disappointment when they realize that the kind of
music they value highly is disliked strongly by other listeners.
Contemporary art music is disliked by many devoted lovers of major-minor based classical mu-
sic, and only to a limited extent utilized in music therapy. In continuation of the investigations of 20th
Century music carried out in The Musical Timespace, it was the author’s intention to assess whether
art music composed during the last hundred years might be accepted or rejected in receptive music
therapy. In order to pursue this objective, he proposed a collaboration with an experienced GIM ther-
apist, aimed at creating a new GIM program.
Background
The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (BMGIM) is an established method in receptive
music therapy. In a BMGIM session, the client listens to selected pieces of music in a relaxed state,
and relates his or her experience during the listening in dialogue with the therapist. The session is
often described as a journey, and the client as a traveler. The method is amply documented and un-
derpinned by research.^1
The core of BMGIM consists of eighteen music programs created by Helen Bonny^2 between
1973 and 1989. These programs contain selections of classical music from the baroque to early 20th
Century. The majority of music selections belong to the classic and romantic repertory, but Bonny’s
programs also include music by Debussy, Ravel, Holst, Copland, Shostakovitch, and Nielsen (Gro-
cke 2002:99-133).
Helen Bonny encouraged the development of additional GIM programs, as expressed in an
interview in May 2000 (Cohen 2003-2004:20). Bonny’s followers have created a large number of
programs (Bruscia 2002:313), which are listed by Bruscia and Grocke (2002:555-591) and Bonde
(2009a). Some of these programs include music by 20th century composers, notably selections sug-
gested by Joanna Booth, James Borling, Kenneth Bruscia, Marilyn Clark, Martin Lawes, Ian Leslie,
Even Ruud, Ruth Skaggs and Sierra Searns. However, with some exceptions, these 20th Century
selections adhere to the musical forms and structures established in the tradition of classical and
romantic art music.
1 The basic references for GIM are Journal of the Association for Music and Imagery; Bonny (2002) Music and Consci-
ousness; Bruscia & Grocke (Eds., 2002) Guided Imagery and Music; Bonde (2009a) GIM Music Programs. Annotated
List. Bonde (2010) Guided Imagery and Music. A Bibliography.
2 Helen Lindquist Bonny was born in 1921, and died in 2010.