Well the bard is a character that dabbles in a bit of everything, doesn\'t he? (or she...don\'t get on my case about it!)

So it\'s fine - in my opinion - if a bard is skilled in some forms of magic, and one would think that said magic should supplement his ability at music and story-telling, etc.

Now, the illusions bit is probably the way to go (as has already been said) since the bard is there to offer a form of escape to the masses.

However, instead of spells primarily, why not just set about creating a list of songs that would not only come from the bard but also serve some purpose via some sort of magical properties - not unlike a chant or prayer or what have you. All it\'d take is the right crystals in the instrument (which is a decent idea as well) and a good enough skill at playing the particular song.

As for the highly specialized part that is somewhat hazzy. From what i remmeber a bard can be a jack of all trades being able to do a little of that and this. However the commitment to learning the songs should be great since only by performing them flawlessly (much like a failure rate for spells the bard will have a certain probability of mucking up the song if he is not able to play it well) can the magical effects be felt.

Well...that\'s my two cents on the topic.