the importance of music and story-telling in a fantasy-setting.

[MarauderX]

It really depends on you game world. In mine, songs and stories are the primary way people remember legends or hear news about a distant king or other lands. Bards are a whole character class for this purpose, and are supposed experts at working a crowd, knowing obscure info about distant places, etc. because they spend the late nights working the tavern and performing to get paid. Training? Nah, I would call it practice. If you do something other people like, do it again later. Pretty soon you are an expert and realize people prefer to hear a catchy melody over loud drums, and next thing you know your PC is the best flute player in the eastern kingdom. Here are some ideas for instruments of ~the age... The House of Musical Traditions.

 

[MerakSpielman]

ETA: I think one of the most common instrument would probably be [ones] that are small and can be carried around without too much hassle.

I always thought it would be a hoot to introduce an NPC bard who played the Pipe Organ. A big one, like He'd have to have five or six wagons and have to haul it in pieces from city to city, where he sets it up in the marketplace and puts out a hat.

 

[BSF]

A Carallon would be pretty cool too. To the best of my knowledge, there is only one portable Carallon in the world. It sounds damn cool too.

In a society where Oral Tradition is the standard, it would make sense that everyone would know at least a few stories and songs, perhaps an instrument as well. Of course, untrained Perform does fine for this. However, I have often lamented that Perform is a cross-class skill. It is an easy way to add a little more depth to a character, but at the cost of 2 skill points for a rank ... it is a hard choice to make.

Now, if a High Magic society, a literate society, or both, you could end up with a little more passive entertainment. Magic could, in some cases, replicate the functions of a radio or a television. It just depends on the style of game you are running.

MarauderX - Thanks for the link!