In the early part of the 20th century, it was somewhat rare to find a fiddler sawing away at the community dances in Cape Breton. Instead, organizers preferred to bring in the heavy artillery — bagpipers, who could be heard no matter how loud the crowd became. It was not uncommon for pipers to be working five days a week, playing everything from funerals to weddings to the ever-popular dances.
But modern technology soon put an end to the pipers’ domination — once the violin could be amplified, the fiddlers soon took over, and they have been drowning out the sound of the pipes ever since. That’s just one of the fascinating stories to be found in Dance To The Piper: The Highland Bagpipe In Nova Scotia by Barry W. Shears.
Fiddles overtook pipes — author – Nova Scotia News – TheChronicleHerald.ca.