Hey Rim Jeon

"No one can learn anything unless they really experience it. When I teach even very simple chords, I could just write them down and theoretically explain what they are, but I want students to physically play and sing, to make them feel it, not just look at what somebody else is doing."

"In harmony classes they have a whole bunch of different instruments and majors, so I always remind them, 'What do you think that this class will do for you?' Drummers sometimes may say, 'Why should I know the chord changes, the key changes? I will never play them.' And I show examples of some drummers who produce amazing CDs. I personally know Terri Lyne Carrington. This is how she produced, as a drummer. I think their perspective changes."

"I came here in 1997 from Korea, so I understand international students' immigration issues. A lot of times students feel kind of uncomfortable talking to their peers about it, because they feel like, 'He seems fine. Why do I feel this way?' I tell them it's not wrong to feel how they feel and tell them how I overcame it. If I cannot help, maybe somebody else can. You have to find your mentors."

"Students who already have been here two, three years, they have different problems. I have to talk to them about why they have to keep going, because it's the time that they almost want to give up. They're looking at all these amazing players from all over the place and think, 'I'm never going to make it.' It's like learning a language. Sometimes you feel like you're doing a lot better and some days it doesn't sound good at all. It's a lifelong commitment. This is not a few years and then you just become an amazing musician and then what? After you graduate from Berklee, that's not the end of your profession, that's the beginning of your profession. It's a journey; it's not a destination. So you have to just know how to enjoy it and how to overcome those feelings."