Oliver Schroer
Many things inspire many different people, and our inspirations will change from day to day. One of my long-time and growing inspirations is Oliver Schroer. Oliver Schroer is a fiddle player, or 5 string player, if you will, and he created some of the most crazy and “out there” arrangements and melodies ever! He is known for his groovy tunes and odd styles, and that’s what I love him for.
Oliver Schroer is the reason I bought my five string (Fiddola) and the more tunes I write, the more I notice how much his music has impacted me. So if you ever come across an Oliver Schroer CD get it; you’ll be moved and inspired. It may make you want to explore new styles and sounds on your fiddle! I just purchased three of his CDs I found at Fascinating Rhythm in Nanaimo and with each new tune I can see how he was pushing the boundaries without any fear of colouring outside the lines. Some of the different things he did was play in different time signatures like 7/8 and 5/4, also sometimes he even put his fiddle out of tune just to make a recording, isn’t that crazy? Sadly in 2009 he passed away, but he lives on through his music and the 1000+ compositions he created in his lifetime.
Here are a few links to some of his videos…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK4ZEyaOe-U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-_sjz6Iazo&list=RDp3lQEfrCF_0&index=3
