Buddy MacMaster’s fiddle has fallen silent, almost 80 years after he first picked it up.

The Cape Breton fiddling legend died Wednesday night at his home in Judique, N.S. at the age of 89.

Hugh Alan, or simply ‘Buddy,’ began playing the fiddle at the age of 12 and secured his first paying gig at 14. It was the start of a career that would introduce the world to Cape Breton music.

“If anyone could ever be considered an institution in Cape Breton music, it would be Buddy MacMaster,” says his friend, Frank MacInnis. “He was so loved by his peers.”

Buddy’s niece, international fiddling star Natalie MacMaster, is a two-time Juno winner who was inspired by her uncle to share her music with the world.

“There's not a show that goes by that I don't say from the stage that I'm the niece of Buddy MacMaster and it always gets a big, big hand,” says Natalie.

Natalie says her uncle didn’t write music, but he had a way of taking traditional songs and making them his own. Around Cape Breton, they became known as ‘Buddy tunes.’

“His brand of violin playing was really unique, although very much in keeping with Cape Breton fiddling tradition,” says Natalie. “He had his own style which was absolutely sweet, the king of the jig.”

Dave MacIsaac first played guitar with MacMaster in the 1970s and is certain he made music with a man to be remembered.

"One of the greatest musicians to ever live, no doubt in my mind,” says MacIsaac.

MacMaster was born in Timmons, Ont. but grew up just down the road from the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre in Judique - a place where his legacy looms large.

“Buddy has had such an influence over the whole spectrum of Cape Breton Music. If there was ever to be an interpretive centre, Judique would be the place to have it because Buddy was close by,” says MacInnis.

In 2000, he was awarded the Order of Canada and was credited with leading a Gaelic renaissance in the country and beyond. Earlier this year, he received a Folk Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award.

MacMaster leaves behind his wife Marie, son Allan, and daughter Mary Elizabeth.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Kyle Moore and The Canadian Press