From Bach to rock star
Sam Roberts chose violin
When Sam Roberts was just four years old, his parents presented him with an ultimatum.
They told their young son that he was going to learn to play a musical instrument. Just what that instrument was to be was his choice.
Young Sam picked the violin, and for almost 20 years he took lessons and practised diligently. At 23, another kind of music stole his heart, and Sam Roberts embarked on a rock ‘n’ roll career. (He has three appearances in Alberta this month as a rocker.)
But some things never leave you, and deep inside this rocker’s heart, a solo violinist was slumbering, waiting for the right moment to reawaken.
Turns out having kids will do that, and when his eldest daughter was old enough, he stuck her in violin lessons with his old teacher. And you know what — Sam went along: A father-daughter moment if there ever was one. The two have been taking lessons together for a couple of years and now daughter No. 2 has joined the band.
The violin has been a big part of his life since he was a child, but “it’s been kept under wraps,” says Roberts.
“Not intentionally, it’s just the way it worked out. The number of times I’ve actually talked about it have been few and far between.
“Maybe I don’t mind the possibility of butchering my own material, but when you feel like you are holding these precious works of music in your hands, and the possibility of not doing justice to them, well that’s where the fear and stage fright creeps in.”
Having his own children has made Roberts realize the wisdom of his parents. “Until you have a child who plays music, you don’t have any idea what it brings to their lives. It rounds them out as individuals.”
Roberts says there would have been a huge void in his life if he hadn’t had the early musical exposure.
He also appreciates the discipline that musical instruction teaches a child. “My parents were very strict with me about practising every day. I never got off the hook, as much as I may have tried. And now I have to instil that same discipline into my own kids ... in order for them to get to where they can hear themselves actually making music.”
Once that happens, “there is almost a miraculous transformation in the child,” he says.
In his own lessons with his daughters, a real bonding is taking place. “We have this daily time set aside, and my daughter is 6-1/2, and she practises an hour a day and we sit down together.
“I have to pull my own weight, because if she’s doing it then I can’t let her get too far ahead. ... Classical music has always helped me understand and relate to melody easier,” he says. “Bach was always my favourite. His solo work for violin was something that I wrestled with for many years, poring over it. His writing is seemingly so effortless and yet still incredibly musical and moving.”
Playing classical also teaches something about the history of music.
“In rock ’n’ roll, so much of the time you are trying to assert your own independence, free from everything that’s come before you. (But) when you delve into classical music, the more you realize that everything, that every note you’ve ever sung or played, has been done before. You realize you are part of a greater story.”
As a young person, Roberts did not play in a youth orchestra. His longtime teacher would put on performances where Roberts says he “was definitely a backbencher for sure.”
One memory as a young child was his performance for Yehudi Menuhin. He was on tour and performing in Montreal, Roberts’ hometown.
Menuhin was into forms of meditation, and Roberts was an altar boy at a Catholic Church that supported that sort of tradition. Roberts performed in the church from time to time, and was asked to play for the great violinist. “I chose quite a difficult piece and did not play it particularly well. Menuhin was gracious, but when I told my teacher what I played he freaked out.”
Just before high school, Roberts picked up a guitar and started to explore rock. He loved its lack of structure. Even so, he says, the years of rehearsal made it easier to play the other stringed instrument.