Scary, but I firmly believe this could never happen in our present day. It is amazing what musician widows are required to put up with. Musicians also have to be reminded that there are critical bodily functions that necessitate putting down the instrument in order to execute them. Musicians, come from a breed that is generally shy and has chosen to use the instrument as a medium for interacting with people as opposed to actually conversing. But for the period musician, putting a horn up to his mouth and blowing just does not have the same effect.
Musicians are fanatical when it comes to the care and motherly protection of their instruments.
Which comes to an important topic. This last being the most dangerous to non-musicians. Inside of the roped off area can be fraught with danger for a non-fighter. Yet stepping over, brushing up against, reaching out and picking up, and worst of all, blowing into instruments without the owner's consent is still a practice seen on occasions at events. The ultimate true Ansteorran story is hearing about someone's instrument being peed on by an un-responsible owner's dog who was not paying attention to their charge.