Greetings, Berklee Class of 2003! It is an honor and a privilege to speak before you tonight.

To begin my little speech, I would like to recite a quote from Frank Zappa that I am certain will strike a chord with you, even if that chord happens to be of the Q-sharp diminished flat 73 and a half variety:

	Chris Opperman: "There is only one rule of music. If it sounds good to you, it is good!"
	Photo by Bob Kramer

Now, if music is the best, then what is music? Considering that we are all musicians on the cusp of the twenty-first century, it is pertinent that we answer this question. Is music jazz? Is music rock 'n' roll? Is music pop, country, techno, ska, surf, rap, calypso, gospel, or classical? If music is classical, is it romantic, baroque, or post-modern? You get the idea. According to the dictionary, music is "an art of sound in time which expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color."

Well, thank you, Mr. Webster! I personally believe that music does not necessarily need to "express ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color." In fact, who ever even said that music has to be "art?" However, since we require a definition to work with tonight, we are going to use the definition given by twentieth-century American composer Charles Ives, which ultra-simply states that music is "life."

You must agree, since music is obviously an important part of your life. Therefore, let us discuss the ramifications of that statement.

If music is life, then what is life? Not to get into the metaphysics of it all, but if we use life as our definition of music, we have to define life as well. Unfortunately, I lack the necessary credentials to supply a definitive definition. However, since your life is what you make of it, you have to decide for yourself what your definition of life is. Furthermore, since I'm not qualified to define your life for you, I'm not qualified to define your music for you either! Your life is your music, and it is your responsibility to define it.

Now, I hate to break the news to you, but there's already been a Miles Davis, an Elvis Presley, and even an Arnold Schoenberg, as well as countless other individuals who have already made their contributions to music. Now, having heroes and role models to learn from and emulate to a point is fine, productive, A-OK, and maybe the way to go in your journey to discover yourself. However, spending your life trying to be the next Miles Davis is not only a waste of time and energy, it is also a grievous disservice to yourself and to music as a whole. Besides, why would someone want to spend money buying a record made by a Miles Davis clone when one can just go down the aisle and get a record made by Miles Davis

In my International Marketing class with Paul Diesel, I learned that if you can't be first in a given category, then you simply need to invent a category in which you can be first. That's really great news because there has never been anyone like you before, and there never will be again! The one thing you can absolutely be the best at is being yourself, and it's you that the music industry needs, not another Miles Davis. Besides, do you remember who the second person to walk on the moon was? Well, it was Buzz Aldrin, but you get the point.

Anyone can be a "great composer," an "amazing player," or a "powerful record company executive." Anyone can be an amazing ANYTHING as long as one has the desire, the dedication, the drive, and the discipline to practice and perfect one's craft. At least from a technical standpoint, anyway. I mean, what's so musical about sitting in your dorm room playing your guitar for six hours a day in order to make sure that your G-string augmented 19th barf scales are totally rockin' while the rest of the world spins without you? Would you prefer to see a bunch of bitter robots play some technical blah, blah, blah, or a group of individuals perform a quaint little ditty that they so obviously love with all their hearts? Considering the enormous success of "non-musicians" like the Beatles or Limp Bizkit, I would have to go with the latter. Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't practice or play in tune. A certain level of technical facility helps, and it certainly will open up more options to you in your musical endeavors. However, if I really need to have something amazingly difficult played with razor-sharp precision...I'll get my computer to play it.

So, if impeccable technique is not enough to make you a true musician, then what else do you need? Well, you need to experience life. Going back to what we were discussing before, if music is life, then life experiences can also be seen as musical experiences. Think about it. Isn't there something musical about watching the stars with someone you love? It's moments like those, along with the individuals in our lives, that define ourselves and therefore our music, and if all we ever do is sit inside and practice our scales, then how much of life are we truly experiencing?

Your goal during your tenure at Berklee College of Music should be to discover yourself and decide what your contribution to music is going to be. You've come to the greatest contemporary music school in the world, and the resources are here for you to follow through on any musical pursuit you desire. The faculty at this college's only goal is to provide you with the necessary tools required to achieve your dreams. However, it's your responsibility alone to make the most out of Berklee. You will only get out of Berklee what you put into it. That means asking questions, participating in sessions, and taking advantage of resources like the Career Development Center, the Learning Center, and the Office of Student Activities. Everyone's here to help you, but you need to take the initiative. You also need to retain your individuality. You may have to write a piece with all sorts-of secondary dominants for your Harmony III class, but no one is stopping you from writing whatever you want once class is over! To me, there is only one rule of music: if it sounds good to you, it is good! Hey, if all tritones all the time is what you like to hear, then I say go for it! Life's far too short to spend time being anyone except yourself.

Now, I realize this may all sound a bit overwhelming, but no one said this was going to be easy! However, it's preferable to stress about music finals than to stress about some dead-end job that you can't stand, right-o? My first suggestion for coping might be to take a baseball bat to your TV set, but hey, that's just me. Anyway, welcome to Berklee College of Music! Music is the best! Good luck, and thank you.