Preliminary Elegy Tests

Went out to sea to play with some goldfish at the Holla end of Al'Taieu. Naked party!
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Base stats:
Wind Skill - 241 (225+16 from merits)
Singing Skill - 241 (225+16 from merits)
Chr - 75 (70+5 from merits)

Data
NB: durations measured in seconds

naked elegy on goldfish
w/o instrument (i.e. completely naked) : 90
w/wrong instrument: 180
w/horn: 216

w/o instrument (+15 singing/12CHR): 180
w/o instrument (+15 wind/0CHR): 90
w/o instrument (+45 CHR/2.Macc): 180
w/o instrument (+24CHR): 180
w/o instrument (+16CHR): 180
w/o instrument (+6CHR): 180
w/o instrument (+0CHR -- completely naked again, just to check!): 90

w/o instrument (Terra's/EarthGrip): 180
w/o instrument (Terra's Only): 180
w/o instrument (Apollo's /+2CHR): 180
w/o instrument (Fire's): 180

Conclusion: Those 90-second elegies are the interesting part. I wasn't resisted once, but 90s was the lowest duration I got -- and it was pretty easy to predict when it was going to happen. 180 is the base duration for the song, so I was surprised that I could get 180s from not only +Singing Skill/CHR, but also by adding as little as 2pts of CHR from Apollo's Staff, alone. Wind Skill while not using an instrument obviously did nothing, but I had to check, anyway. Also interesting is that I could wear a Fire Staff (which does nothing for any bard stat), and still get a 180s duration.

It seems like if you're not using a wind instrument, the game ignores any wind gear you may be using and treats you as if you were -- naked. Whereas if you are not using a wind instrument, but are wearing an inappropriate stat, you are 'clothed' and don't get the half-resist penalty.

The results were so blatantly consistent that I decided to switch to Battlefield Elegy and see if anything changed.

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naked battlefield elegy
w/o horn (completey naked!): 60secs
w/wrong instrument (but otherwise naked): 120secs

Conclusion: Same deal. Half-resist while naked. No resist when using an instrument, but no duration bonus. Decided that waiting 2-3mins and hoping for Elegy to get interesting was a waste of time, so went out to see if the same naked-penalty applied to low-lvl mobs.

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naked carnage elegy
orcish stonechucker: 180s

Conclusion: Naked penalty doesn't apply, or my CHR stat is so far over the mob's that I don't get half-resists.

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Problems
I had no way to isolate singing skill, because the only gear I have with singing on it ... also has CHR on it. This would not be a problem if I owned a singing earring. And I would own one, if people hadn't jacked the price up half a mill in the last 2-3months. -_-;;

Because I can't isolate the singing skill, I'm not sure if I unintentionally found the CHR of goldfish (75ish+) and CHR is the only part affecting the partial resist. I hope to find someone who can lend me an earring or test it for me, themselves ... soon. The result with the Fire Staff, however -- in lieu of being able to use a singing earring -- makes me think that at higher levels there's some kind of weird 'naked-penalty' for bards. At least as far as Elegy duration goes.

Also: Goldfish are completely unsuitable for more detailed Elegy-specific testing. I was using Threnody to hold the Goldfish and getting an interesting range of resists, though -- so using Threnody as a substitute test-song may be a possibility.

Basic Numbers

Things I wish I'd known before I started playing BRD.
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Song Durations
2:00 = No instrument
2:00 = +0 Song Instrument (ex. Storm Fife while not in Salvage or Assault)
2:30 = +2 Song Instrument (ex. Faerie Piccolo)

Conclusion: If you sing with a +0 instrument or the wrong instrument, you may as well have been singing with no instrument. The only difference is that with no instrument, you can only have one song effect up at a time. If you have no instrument, you are roughly as effective as someone /BRD.

Application: If you sing Marchx2 and Balladx2 in rapid succession, the Ballads will overwrite each other. Assuming your order was Victory March (2:30) - Advancing March (2:30) - Ballad II (2:00) - Ballad I (2:00) you, and possibly your healer if they were standing in range of march, will end up with Advancing March & Ballad I. It's safest to stick to Pianissimo+BalladII unless you're absolutely sure that your mages are out of range of melee songs. Or reverse your ballad order. But personally? I'm locked into the habit of casting BalladII first.

This is also the reason to buy March, Madrigal, and Minuet instruments if you never buy any others. If you are ever included in a swap rotation you will want the longest song duration you can get so that melee have songs for the full or nearly full duration of the swap.
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BRD Skill
The only number that matters is Singing+Instrument. All bard songs are calculated with combined skill. The only thing that matters for buffs is the final number. Singing skill, Wind skill, and String skill are separately irrelevant. The game calculates your effect from the combined total of your numbers. If you are using a wind instrument, that number is Wind+Singing. If you are using a string instrument, that number is String+Singing.

Application: The radius of your buff songs is determined by the level of your skill. At higher levels your songs will have a wider area of effect. Some bards have string skill sets just to ballad mages in Dynamis. When discussing things with other bards, it's also helpful to know what your combined skill number is. Any time I refer to a skill number, it's understood that the number represents Singing+Instrument.
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Valor Minuet IV Cap
Base skill at 75: 450
Needed to cap: 462 (+12)

Blade Madrigal Cap Source: Kirschy
Base skill at 75: 450
Needed to cap: 508 (+58)

Application: Functional in merit parties. Minuet and Madrigal merits will noticeably affect how your melee parse in both attack and accuracy. Consider this when you decide to merit. If you merit nothing else on bard, please consider capping minuet and unlocking Nightingale/Troubadour for swaps. These should be minimum requirements for HNM shells. Everyone should aim to hit the Valor Minuet cap, at least!

NB: These numbers assume you are using the +2 instrument. Please use the +2 instrument.
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March Tiers - Source: BG and this Blog
NB: These numbers represent Wind Skill + Singing Skill and apply only to Victory March, which is uncapped. The effect of Advancing March is capped.

The first column represents the Haste effect, and the second represents the skill level required. Remember that these are Wind Skill + Singing Skill numbers. Base is 225 Wind + 225 Singing or 450 Skill total.

56/512 : 487-505 (Tier One)
57/512 : 506-512 (Tier Two)
58/512 : 513-532 (Tier Three)
59/512 : 533-545 (Tier Four)
60/512 : 546-552 (Tier Five)
61/512 : 553- (Tier Six)

Application: You have to be wearing +37 skill to break tier one and +56 skill to break tier two. Merits are +32 by themselves. Tier one and tier two are acceptable numbers for above-average bards. Tier four can be reached with perfect gear -Gjallarhorn. Anything above tier four requires Gjallarhorn.

Conclusion: The overall effect is, unfortunately, still tiny. Break tiers for bragging rights and slightly(?) better parses. The effect of Haste and Fast Cast stacks in a nonlinear way that resembles an exponential curve. The more of it you have, the more you get out of it.