What is Waits?
[[File:A band of modern waits (York, 2006).jpg|A band of modern waits|thumb]] '''Waits''' or '''waites''' were [[United Kingdom|British]] town musicians. From [[medieval]] times up to the early 19th century, every important [[Great Britain|British]] town and city had a band of waites. Some other countries in [[Europe]] also had waits. They were called '''Stadtpfeifer''' in [[Germany]] and '''Pifferi''' in [[Italy]]. The duties (things they had to do) varied in different towns and at different times in history. One of their most important jobs was to play at certain times of day so that people knew what the time was. They often played from the top of church towers. 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. The instruments they played also varied. Mostly they were loud [[wind instrument]]s such as the [[shawm]]. It was a paid job. The waits wore smart [[livery|liveries]] and silver chains of office with the town's [[coat of arms|arms]]. In Germany the Stadtpfeifer would also play at [[church service|church services]]. They would play shawms or [[trombone|trombones]] on normal days, but [[trumpet|trumpets]] and [[drum|drums]] on feast-days. In Britain there were no more waits after [[1835]]. The name “waits” is still used in “Christmas Waits” (any group of people singing [[Christmas carol|carols]] at [[Christmas]]). == References == {{Reflist}} [[Category:English musical groups]] [[Category:History of Europe]] [[Category:Music history]]