What do we know about the role of fifer or fiddler on an R.N. ship? Not all work involved hauling - there were other things to be done and times, especially on a long passage, when not much hauling was needed. So the ABs were doing something else. And if that's off the topic of chanteys what did whoever might have led singing (if there was any) do when a fifer would have fifed?

Was the fifer a 'trained musician' (and was the shantyman a trained singer) or was it an additional skill or something a no longer abled AB did (like the wardroom 'peggy')? Knocking out 'Off she Goes' and 'Drops of Brandy' is, I suspect, nowadays done by untrained (in a formal sense) musicians.

If the fife was used in action is was a specialist job.(for that matter what did gunners do when not fighting).