What were British town musicians called?
Q: What were British town musicians called?
A: British town musicians were called waites or waits.
Q: Were waits found in other countries besides Britain?
A: Yes, some other countries in Europe also had waits. They were called Stadtpfeifer in Germany and Pifferi in Italy.
Q: What was one of the main duties of a wait?
A: One of their most important jobs was to play at certain times of day so that people knew what the time was.
Q: How did they alert people to the time of day?
A: They often played from the top of church towers.
Q: Did they have any other duties besides playing music?
A: Sometimes they were also guards, watching from the towers so that they could spot any danger. They were like watchmen, making sure everything was all right (there was no police at that time). They woke people up in the mornings by playing music in the streets.
Q: What instruments did they usually play?
A: Mostly they were loud wind instruments such as the shawm.
Q: When did waits stop existing in Britain?
A: There were no more waits after 1835 in Britain.
