Musical and Social Meaning… Part 4

Musical and Social Meaning… Part 4

Controlled research studies on brain responses such as the BRECVEMA (or BRECVEM) Model by Patrik Juslin have provided scientific evidence that music triggers the mirror neuron system of the human brain and stimulates emotional states in the performer and the listener. In other words, neurons in the brain stems will voluntarily discharge when an individual executes a  motor act and involuntarily when he or she observes another person performing the same or a similar motor act.  Thus these brain stem actions are called mirror brain stem responses.  These brain stem actions are of great importance to Christian musicians because worshiper’s and seeker’s brains will respond when triggered involuntarily to musicing that reminds them (mirror responses) of former similar sensual emotive states of mind produced by musicing.  For this reason alone worship leaders must be highly selective of the styles of music they use in the context of public worship.

Also, definitive scientifically controlled studies and clinical practice over many years in Music Therapy by scientists, since the concept was first developed by E. Thayer Gaston, have given great credence to the belief that those who experience music have unavoidable brain responses to the music they hear.  The results of these definitive research projects and clinical experiences have much more credence than a music philosopher or an uninformed worship leader asserting that neither the fabric of the music part of the music nor the landscape that surrounds the music has the power to affect the hearer in terms of understandable real life meaning.

Musical and Social Meaning… Part 3

Musical and Social Meaning… Part 3

          If indeed music can contain or always does contain signs, codes and/or symbols etc. that are actually imbedded in the music part of the music, they are very important to Christian musicians.  If as a part of the fabric of the music they convey real life meaning to the listener, understanding these signs, codes, symbols etc. is even more apropos to  understanding the emotional and psychological power of religious musicing.  Furthermore, if they are an unavoidable part of the music fabric, then the study of these phenomena that are woven into the music, will possibly give much greater insight into how they facilitate the understandable meaning that the music part of the music communicates to all who experience it.  Also, Christian musicians need to develop an awareness of the extra musical factors that surround the fabric of sacred music that some philosophers refer to as musical landscape.

          The theories about musical signs, symbols, codes etc. in the fabric of music are speculative, unproven hypotheses, as well as are the beliefs about how they communicate meaning that is socially and even musically understandable.  However, so are the theories that the music part of music is a closed system without the ability to communicate anything to the hearer that is understandable in terms of real life meaning.  For centuries music philosophers have written about the power that the music part of music has on the auditor.  The writings of music philosophers over many centuries has tended to be polarized into those who believe that music is emotive, has great power, and those who believe that it is a closed system incapable of transmitting any understandable meaning that is related to the world around us.

Musical and Social Meaning… Part 2

Musical and Social Meaning… Part 2

          Certainly, this discussion of musical and social meaning in music will not settle all the arguments about meaning that is or is not communicated through musicing. Neither will it settle the arguments about exactly how real-life emotions, or on the contrary music’s benign “garden variety” of emotions (that are music’s alone and therefore not related to real life), are aroused when one experiences musicing. However, I hope that this discussion will shed some light on these views and their relevance to sacred musicing.  Furthermore, I hope that the reader will take renewed interest the power of the emotiveness of religious musicing and also develop an awareness of how the power of these emotions, that music is capable of arousing in the listener, affects all sacred musicing.  For a much more thorough treatment of musical meaning see chapters 8, 9 and 10 of Music Philosophy in Christian Perspective.

 Liz Garnett stated in the Critical Musicology Journal , “That musical codes[i] can and do carry social values has become something of a semiotic[ii] truism in recent years.”   She went on to say, “So, social meanings encoded in music now form part of our musicological landscape, and their existence no longer needs to be strenuously argued. What is still in dispute, however, is the status of these codes. Are they an inherent and unavoidable part of the musical fabric, for example, or products of cultural listening habits shaped by ideologically informed critical metalanguages? That is, are the apparently socially oppressive messages carried by the staples of the musical canon into which our culture has poured so much emotional investment an inevitable part of their meaning, or will the development of new interpretational frameworks allow them to speak to us in ways we find more ideologically acceptable?”

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[i] Musical codes is used here in the sense that social meaning is imbedded in the music.

[ii] Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

Musical and Social Meaning in the Fabric and Landscape of Music Part 1

Musical and Social Meaning in the Fabric and Landscape of Music

Part 1

Copyright © 2020 by Garen L. Wolf I 
Parts 1-18

All rights reserved. No part of this monograph may be used or reproduced in any

manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief 

quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For more information contact

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          There is a continuing argument among practicing musicians and music philosophers about what music is and what it communicates (if anything) and how its meaning (if it has meaning) relates (or doesn’t relate) to the real world around us. Music signs, triggers, codes and symbols that are believed by some to exist in the fabric of music are a discussion of much interest to 21^st century music philosophers. By the term the fabric of music I mean musical practices which are influenced from, protocols, interactions and gestures from religious, social and music performance practices and from content imbedded in the music part of music.  This fabric, that comes from inside and outside of the music, affects the way a person musics and it also influences the end result of his or her music performance and ipso facto the information that is transmitted from his or her religious musicing. 

These imbedded elements in the music part of the music, and the way the musicer musics, facilitates the understandable meaning that the musicing transmits to the listener even though these elements from its fabric and landscape may go partially or completely unnoticed by the uninformed performer and listener.  Thus the term fabric refers to imbedded (embodied) elements such as signs, codes and/or symbols in the musical content i.e. the music’s formal properties, and landscape refers to referential meaning (designated meaning) and from the extra-musical influences which are a part of the performance practice--combined they form the fabric and landscape that unavoidably imbeds and surrounds the musicer’s religious musicing.

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace

          Colossians 3:16-17 teaches, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”  Many speakers and writers miss the lessons taught in these  verses.  Also many Bible expositors skip these verses in their comments or at least they make little or no mention of the music lesson taught here.  I suspect they were so intent on getting to the eighteenth verse so that they could once again tell women to submit!  There is also another companion passage found in Ephesians 5:19-21, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”

          I would like to take a brief moment to remind Christian musicians of the main reasons that we music.  First, we must always music “in the name of the Lord Jesus”.  The Greek word used here is kurios (2962) which connotes supreme authority, or the one who is the Christian’s Savior, Lord and Master.  Christian musicians often tend to get lost in the fact that they are giving a music performance or that they work for and represent a particular church or Christian organization. All of the above may be true, but a Christian musician’s supreme authority is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  Second, the Christian musician who is performing the psalms, hymn, and spiritual songs does so as a vehicle for giving thanks to God the Father by the mediatorial agency of God the Son.  Third, a musician who performs or leads others in sacred music must have the grace (charis 5485) God in his or her heart.  This Scripture is not referring to a performer’s  charisma, singing gracefully, or singing with gratitude but rather God’s grace applied to the performer’s heart.

God Said Be Strong

God Said Be Strong

Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”

A Christian musician must remember that being a strong in the Lord is the normative condition that God intended for the Christian.  However, the musician must as Ephesians 6:11 explains, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  The Christian musician does not have to fail, but he or she most likely will, without the protective armor that God has provided.  Christian musicians fail when they rely on their own wisdom and strength.  Because musicians are often self-reliant and head strong, they sometimes put on some of God armor to protect some aspects of their lives, but the rest of God’s armor doesn’t seem to fit because it is too restricting.

               Ephesians 6:12 gives the reason that Christian musicians need to put on all of the armor that God has provided.  The reason is,”… we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  God’s armor includes “truth”, “righteousness”, “the preparation of the gospel”,” the shield of faith”, “the helmet of salvation”, and the “Word of God”.  God’s Word is so powerful that it is referred to here as a sword.  As a matter of fact, in Hebrews 4:12 the Word is said to be, “…quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  The list of the armor that God has provided for the Christian musician is long, but putting it on should never be considered to be a burden or restrictive.  We should put it on with great joy because will allow us to “be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” 

              

A Christian’s Worldview of Music

A Christian’s Worldview of Music

THERE WAS A TIME in my career when I believed that a music philosophy was always developed before the formation of a music worldview. Now I understand that worldview, and specifically music worldview, is the window through which musicians view what they believe is the truth about the nature and value of music. All Christian musicians have a music worldview, but being a Christian does not ensure that one’s worldview of music is truly Christian. I define music worldview as how a musician perceives the whole of music in terms of what that musician considers the reality of what is right and wrong, appropriate or not appropriate concerning music.

The Christian musician’s presumed reality is woven into a Christian’s music philosophy. What is woven into the musician’s philosophy from worldview will strongly shape how the musician views and deals with music in relationship to being in the world. Certainly, every Christian is in the world, but simply being in the world does not mean that a Christian is “of the world”, i.e., is squeezed into the world’s mold philosophically. Hopefully, the Christian will not be convinced by those who are not Christians to view the world and music as they do. The way that Christian musicians view the world will strongly influence the way they view music in this world

In St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (12:1-2) he strongly admonishes Christians, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The words “not conformed” (me suschematizo, 3361, 4964) teach us that in the process of presenting ourselves to God we must not let ourselves be fashioned into the pattern of the world’s paradigm. It is interesting to note that the original meaning of the word paradigm first appeared in English sometime during the 15th century and meant “an example or pattern”. However, since the 1960s the word paradigm has developed the meaning of a framework containing a person’s basic assumptions and ways of thinking and knowing.

Traditional Church Music—part 2

Traditional Church Music—part 2 

          Yesterday we considered traditional church music and its use in public worship.  Although traditional church music may at times be fraught with problems—so are many other styles of music that are now being used in public worship.  As nervous church leaders who are deeply involved in leader-shift are sweeping the worship service clean of those things like solid oak pulpits, grand pianos, organs, church steeples etc. all traditional church music is most often added to the pile.

          Many church musicians consider all traditional forms of church music to be the culprit responsible for all or most of the church’s problems.  Writers who are conservative are often accused of making sweeping generalities about current problems of music styles that are now being used in public worship. However, the removal of hymns, gospel hymns, gospel songs because they are no longer useful is a much more egregious sweeping generality.  So, every genre of music used as a concomitant to the good news of the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ must be individually evaluated as to its usefulness in the context of worship.

Traditional Church Music—part 1

Traditional Church Music—part 1

          Traditions are harmful when they are in conflict with God’s Word. Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”   However, St. Paul states in 2Thesalonians 2:15, “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.”  So, the New Testament writers only condemned traditions that were in conflict With Scripture—not all traditions.  The word paradosis (3862) which was translated traditions is derived from paradidomi 3860 which means to instruct or transmit.  So, St. Paul was admonishing the Christians at Thessalonica to stand fast in these truths which had been transmitted to them.

          Traditional church music is harmful when it takes the focus off of the main things i.e. the “weightier matters” (Cardinal doctrines) found in the Bible or when it is partnered with confusing or incorrect doctrine.  Matthew 23:23, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”  If traditional music is so shallow that it obscures the “weightier matters” then it is harmful to public worship.  However, worship leaders should not act as if traditional church music is the only music that is capable of being banal music or an inadequate vehicle or the transmission of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Musical and Social Meaning…part 16

Musical and Social Meaning…part 16

When I read Romans 12:2 in the light of knowledge made aware to Christian musicians by scientific research concerning how music triggers the mirror neuron system of the human brain and stimulates emotional states in the performer and the listener I am sobered.  “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” holds new meaning to Christian musicians.  Centuries before the BRECVEMA Model research, under divine inspiration, St. Paul was aware of the fact that it will take God’s transforming power to undo t mental conformation to the way the world thinks and does.  There are many ways in which the world (aion 165) implants the spirit of this age into a person’s mind and thereby squeezes people into its mold—the way that the world musics is certainly one of the ways.  Only a metamorphoo (3339) i.e. a complete mental transformation can undo the mental damage that the influence of the way that the world musics.  St. Paul did not recommend making some adjustments but rather a complete transformation.   Remember that verse one teaches that the “brethren” (Christians) should “present” and become “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”

[1] Musical codes is used here in the sense that social meaning is imbedded in the music.

[2] Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

[3] Metalanguage as used here means that music is capable of communicating beyond the restraints of written communication.

[4] Metacommunication as used here refers to communication that surrounds what a person says or musics that also has meaning. This meaning (in the music part of the music) may or may not be congruent with what that person intended to music. Since this communication is implicit and not expressed in words, it may support or contradict the verbal communication of the words spoken or sung. 

[5] Metacognition is thinking about thinking used here in the sense that the one who has experienced music later muses on his thoughts and emotions that were triggered during the previous musical experience.  These thoughts are self-reflective, so much so, that the person who experienced the music actually relives the musical experience.

[6] An axiom is a statement or proposition which is regarded by someone as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.

[7] Paralanguage was coined In the 1970s, by Gregory Bateson.  This term has come to mean nonverbal communication such as your tone of voice, pitch, intonation, speed of speaking, hesitation, noises, gestures, and facial expressions. The reason that a Christian must consider paralanguage is that it is a sort-of subset of meta-communication that often affects sacred musicing.  Paralanguage has the propensity to partially or even completely change the original meaning of sacred music. It is sometimes considered to only nuance nonphonemic properties of sacred music—i.e. words whose pronunciation and spelling do not match.  However, such a definition is too restrictive since paralanguage may consciously or unconsciously affect worship music much more than phonetically

Musical and Social Meaning…part 15

Musical and Social Meaning…part 15

A faith-based music philosophy that is informed, in light of 21^st century definitive research and philosophical understandings, must recognize that all music does contain social meaning in its fabric and landscape. This meaning is an inherent and unavoidable part of the music part of the music.  Therefore, the committed Christian worship leader must be very careful of the styles that he or she uses in the context of worship (and by his or her doing ipso facto places approval on the music), because musicing forms cultural performing and listening habits that will be shaped by these ideologically informed critical music metalanguages.

Worship leaders need to be constantly concerned with what musical cognition and metacognition is capable of doing to the whole life of those who experience music and who participate in corporate musicing. Since paralanguage has the propensity to partially or even completely change the original meaning of sacred music, all sacred music must be carefully vetted before it is utilized in the context of public worship.  If worship leaders do not give the practice of musicing unto God and musicing unto each another much careful vetting before performing the music, they may do much harm to those to whom they minister and to those who minister musically with them.  Although rejecting all or most all music that is new without having a good reason to do so is often a mistake, ignoring traditional sacred music that has proven to be useful and valuable for decades or even centuries is also a serious oversite.

Musical and Social Meaning…part 14

Musical and Social Meaning…part 14

Remember that metalanguage, as used here, means that music communicates beyond the restraints of spoken or written communication. A faith-based music philosophy that is based on Bible based principles of musicing, must consider that, since musicing is so emotive, it is capable of bypassing reason and restraint. Considering music and musicing as metalanguage and metacommunication gives insight into an understanding the world of emotions and passions triggered by musicing that help to develop an ideologically informed one’s paradigm and ultimately that person’s worldview. 

Isaiah 28:10 teaches, “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little…”  When we “do” music over and over again utilizing styles of music that the world has developed from its informed ideological mold, that is by no means a friend of grace, this “doing” helps to align, conform, and actually squeeze Christians into the world’s paradigm of how one should music. Isaiah 28:14 states, “Wherefore hear the word of the LORD…” as opposed to aligning with a world view that is opposed to “the word of the LORD”.  When a fellowship of believers musics exactly in the same manner as the world musics (except for the text) the church at large is partially responsible for aligning itself the world’s ideologically informed paradigm and worldview.

Musical and Social Meaning…part 13

Musical and Social Meaning…part 13

The way we music in the context of public (and private) worship helps to form musical and cultural listening habits that are shaped by these ideologically informed critical metalanguages of music.  We are not only “what we eat” but also “what we music”.  Christian musicians may scoff at the belief that Church Music Matters but every time one musics in church an ideology is  being formed or at least a musical paradigm is being carried out by the music leaders doing. The way a church musics develops of a set of shared musical habits within that body of believers. These musical habits become beliefs that influence the way a Christian community thinks, acts, and views the world.

 Christian musicians at times seem to forget that although baby boomer’s musical views will probably not be altered much by the music that a worship leader is trying out on the congregation in order to be trendy. However, children and teenagers will be forever changed by what and how a Christian community musics. Music has the potential to change how millennials and little children will view the world and even more seriously their paradigm of God. All too many congregations of believers are subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) being catechized that that traditional forms of sacred musicing are not meaningful or relevant to 21^st century worship.

Musical and Social Meaning… Part 6

Musical and Social Meaning… Part 6

 Because of the complexity of how music functions, I am drawn to the conclusion that music which stands alone is beyond written communication and is therefore a metalanguage or perhaps even more accurately a paralanguage. Those who espouse the view that music is a metalanguage and or a paralanguage must of necessity concede that the music part of music is only analogous to and not synonymous with how  written or spoken communication functions.  I contend that music functions in some ways like language, but close comparison reveals that music alone and language do function differently is some ways.  However, the fact that instrumental music (music alone) does not function exactly like written or spoken language does not indicate that it does not communicate real life meaning to the listener.  This view that music as a whole is only analogous to language becomes even more complex when a musical composition includes words.

 All music that includes words communicates understandable meaning to all who experience it through the text and also from how its formal properties (the music part of the music) have been arranged into a coherent whole.  Whatever meaning that the music transmits to the listener is understandable meaning that relates to real life. This is evident because no performer musics in an artistic “bubble” that is detached from the world around him.  Since all musicing is done in community, all meaning that the music communicates to those who experience it has moral implications. Therefore, all religious musicing has the potential to have a positive or negative spiritual effect on the listener. Metacognition, i.e. a person’s thinking about his or her thinking when previously experiencing the music, further empowers what the music earlier triggered in the mind of the observer through brain stem responses.

Musical and Social Meaning…part 12

Musical and Social Meaning…part 12

Understanding the total fabric and landscape of the religious music that a worship leader utilizes in the context of public worship is essential.  What the music is made of is important. The ingredients of music (the fabric of the music) matters, and so do the associations that surround it giving it an unavoidable landscape.  Two brands of medication that help control gastric reflux were recently pulled from druggist’s shelves because they both contained a carcinogen.  Thousands of people took this cancer causing chemical because these users blindly trusted without understanding what the medications contained.  Uninformed church leadership and  worship leaders often proceed with the same blind trust.  Ministers of music should not use music simply because they found it on the shelf of some music store or on the internet.  Remember that the powerful musical discourse in Ephesians chapter 5 is prefaced by the admonition in verse10, “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.” Ephesians 5:15 also warns, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise…”

As was mentioned earlier, a host of current and former music philosophers in the past and now believe that all musicing is unavoidably done in community.  When it comes to composers, arrangers, performers, and worship leaders, no musician is an island and no musician stands alone.  Christian musicians, who believe that if one ignores these theories they will go away, are naive and short-sighed.  Christian musicians should remember Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew 10:16, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” 

Musical and Social Meaning…part 11

 Musical and Social Meaning…part 11

 Recently, studies that have concluded that music signs, triggers, codes and symbols etc. exist in the fabric and landscape of music have added much new thinking about how music communicates meaning.  Why all the fuss about these new philosophical views about musical and social meaning in the fabric and landscape of  music and how churches should apply these theories (along with scientific knowledge) to the music they utilize in the context of worship? It is important for Christian musicians to be aware of what a particular music has the power to do to the whole life of all who experience it. Worship leaders do not need to become alarmists or see a conspiracy in every new musical composition, but neither should they stick their head in the sand and refuse to be aware of current musical scholarship.

 I believe that although St. Luke 16;8 was not referring directly to music and musicing, his inspired observation is worth considering, “And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”  If Christian worship leaders fail to “walk circumspectly”, (i.e. be very careful how you live and act.)  they will, be less wise than “the children of this world”. The English word circumspect which is translated here in the AV from akribos connotes being wary and unwilling to take risks. That is what it means for one to be a conservative Christian musician.  In the musical discourse in Ephesians chapter 5, verse 17 it states, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”  A worship leader must understand the embodied and designated meaning imbedded in a piece of music and ipso facto the “landscape” that surrounds it before he or she is capable of understanding its nature, value and meaning.  Such knowledge and understanding is absolutely necessary in the process of “understanding what the will of the Lord is” concerning the religious music a minister of music uses in the context of public worship. 

Thank you for a Great Month of March 2020

Thank you for a Great Month of  March 2020     

            This month was the 74th month of my blog which contained devotional and philosophical thoughts for Christian musicians. I have written over 3,600 posts since this blog was started in January of 2013. There have been several times this year when I have experienced a certain amount of writer’s burnout.  However, I am praying that my posts in 2020 will stimulate both the regular and new blog members to remain faithful to their musical ministries.  The over 3,600  page views of my blog this month were experienced by people who read a mixture of philosophical and devotional thoughts.  We have had over 171,000 page-views since the blog was started in January of 2013.  Since I started this blog the page views have come from 135 different countries. It is interesting to note that a little over one half of the total page views since we began in January 2013 have come from the United States and the other one half have come from a varied combination of 134 countries scattered around the world.

            These views have come from Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Argentina, Armenia, Angola,  Aruba, Austria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Czechia , Czech Republic,  Colombia, Congo [DRC], Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Herzegovina, Honduras, Hong Kong,  Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland (Republic of),  Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordon, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (FYROM) Macau, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia,  Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Netherlands, (Antilles) New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Oman, Palestine, Paraguay, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru. Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Porto Rico, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand,  Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks & Caicos Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Unknown Region, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, USA, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

             The ten countries with the most page views this month were: Sweden, United States, Germany, Turkmenistan, Portugal, South Korea, Russia, Ukraine, France, Unknown Region.