After a player complaint, I decided to re-read the rules for bardic music. It seems they were right: Other than Countersong (perhaps the most situational one), none of them require a roll on the part of the Bard. He just 'does' it, for a static effect, no matter how good he really is. Of course to unlock them he still needs to max out ranks in a skill he will likely never roll. Is there something I am misreading, or is this how it is intended to work? Maybe a variant rule somewhere I could look at?