https://cobussenma.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/images.jpg?w=1462
I’m working hard on my contribution to The Oxford Handbook of Sound & Imagination. The editors want to put less emphasis on the visual connotation of the word “imagination” and are primarily interested in what they call “sonic imagination”. I’ve decided that my article will concentrate on the role of imagination while listening to sounding art (by which I mean both music and sound art, actually all art in which sound plays a substantial role). The question that keeps me busy at this moment is if it is possible that we do NOT use our imagination while listening to music. Any thoughts from your side?
Thinking Sounds 
Interesting question… For me, imagination happens during the conception of a project idea (often a long thought process). Once the idea is solidified and I begin recording, manipulating and composing sounds, my process becomes one of exploration, not imagination.
Yeah, that’s from a composer’s perspective. I’m more interested in the way a (non-professional, non-musician) listener experiences a rather limited amount of “information” …