Two of Groven's maternal uncles also played the hardanger fiddle, and his mother's sisters, as well as Aslaug herself, were talented folk singers.
His father Olav was also an apt player, and in their childhood, the brothers learned notes, and sometimes played together, when they got their hands on classical sheet music.
As Eivind grew up, he understood the value of writing down the tunes he heard from other fiddlers, and in this way, he soon gained great knowledge.
He held Beethoven in highest esteem for the rest of his life, and wished for the 9th symphony anthem to be played at his funeral.
[3] In 1931, Groven was appointed by the Norwegian Broadcasting Company, NRK, to be responsible for half an hour of folk music every week.
From 1938 and into World War II, Groven started his work on just intonation, which resulted in his special organ, completed in 1952.
Albert Schweitzer wrote to Groven and wished he could try this organ, and when he was granted the Nobel Peace Prize, he seized the opportunity.
During the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, Groven resigned his post in NRK after a brief and unwelcome encounter in his studio with Joseph Goebbels.
After WWII, Groven participated in editing and publishing seven volumes of written and collected tunes for hardanger fiddle, along with two fellow folk musicians in Norway.
This resulted in a fruitful artistic relationship and Groven created music based on the texts written by his sister-in-law.
He worked as a consultant in NRK, and here, he was instrumental in creating a folk music archive, and in getting the company proper facilities for recording.
The result of this work is a seven volume series of Norwegian Hardanger fiddle tunes, finished after Groven's death.
The blue notes common in folk music were often compensated in classical orchestra through imaginative use of overtones and in orchestration.
One has to remember, though, that he never heard much of the early Flemish music, or even his older contemporary Stravinsky, and yet similarities can be found.
He wrote a number of songs over poems written by Henrik Wergeland, and choral works based on texts by the Norwegian novelist and playwright Hans E. Kinck (1865–1926) and poet Ingeborg Refling Hagen.