Disclaimer: Since everyone who becomes a Bard must first level a job up to 30, I am going to assume starting Bards know a fair amount about the game, and thus will not explain every little thing. Furthermore, I'm only level 48, but I feel I have a pretty good grasp of how to be a good Bard. If anything is blatantly wrong, feel free to submit your opinion.

1. Race

Bard is one of the few jobs that any race can excell in. However, I believe certain races are better than others:

a) Taru - Tied for the best CHR, and by far the best MP
b) Hume - Tied for the best CHR, and second most MP
c) Elvaan/Mithra - Elvaan has better CHR, Mithra has better MP
d) Galka - Low CHR and Low MP. It can be done, but you need to spend lots of money on equipment.

2. Subjob

White Mage - This is the most common subjob, and with good reason. It makes you the ultimate support party member. Bards often have freetime between start-battle songs and end-battle songs. Since melee is virtually useless, a BRD/WHM can use that time to cast back-up heals, Bar-element-ra spells, curing status effects, and tossing a Curaga after a nasty Gobbie Bomb.

Red Mage - A major benefit of this job is Fast Cast, which allows you to finish your songs slightly faster than normal. Getting songs off faster increases their effectiveness in battle. You will also be able to back-up cure, although Divine Seal and Curaga will not be available.

Thief - The only purpose of this subjob is for Treasure Hunter, to increase the item drop rate for your party.

Warrior - Somewhat useful for dealing minor damage at low levels, the only other use I can see is to use Provoke help set up a Trick Attack on the main tank.

All other subjobs are virtually useless, and not worth discussing.

3. Equipment

Armor

There is a debate among Bards as to whether +MP or +CHR is more useful. Some of it is Race-dependent. It also depends on whether you're at a particular level range where you're getting debuffs resisted often. One good rule of thumb in deciding equipment is that +1 CHR is equivalent to +10 MP in usefulness.

My opinion is to wear +MP gear first (especially if you're not Taru), and CHR gear in the slots here you can't acquire good MP items. For example, through level 40, Astral Ring is the only ring that adds a decent amount of MP. Since this is very expensive, you can make do with Hope Rings or Pearl Rings until you can afford it.

If there is no gear available with MP or CHR bonuses, go for Defense, or Evasion.

Race Specific Equipment can be very useful, for any job except Taru. Since RSE makes up for each Race's weaknesses, Galka RSE will add LOTS of MP and some CHR, Elvaan will add MP, Hume and Mithra's add some MP and some CHR. Taru RSE can be used if you want to save some gil, but it should absolutely be replaced by level 40.

Some other examples of cheap equipment that will last many levels are: Noble's Ribbon, Bird Whistle, Friar's Rope, Corsette, Pearl Ring, any -HP/+MP Hairpins.

Weapons

Bard has the highest skill rating in Dagger, and the Bard Artifact weapon (Paper Knife) is also a Dagger.

Some Bards prefer Swords, which are generally better for soloing through the early levels.

Staff is also an option if you want to carry Monster Signa.

The Shellbuster Club is a poor man's monster signa (+4 CHR).

Instruments

This section is pretty easy. Buy instruments that add +1 or +2 to the songs you play the most. +1 to a song increases its power and duration.

Cornette is very cheap and should be one of your first song-specific instruments. As you get more gil, gradually acquire the +1 versions of instruments.

Especially useful ones are: Traversiere+1, Cornette+1, Flute+1, Piccolo+1, Horn+1, and San d'Orian Horn. These are not hard to obtain at early levels, and enhance your most frequently used songs.

BCNM Gear

BCNM gear will vary somewhat from Leveling gear.

Your main focus now should be CHR, followed by Defense and VIT.

Mary's Horn helps tremendously. Reports are that it adds about 10 seconds to the duration of Lullaby, which can make a big difference.

Monster Signa is also useful, though not a must-have. It's +8 CHR will help prevent your Lullaby from getting resisted. Be careful though, since it gives -5 VIT, Tarus especially may not want to use this.

4. Macros

A Bard lives and dies by his/her macros. I've found I'm able to fit all my necessary macros thus far on one page of macros (20 total). The most important reason for having macros is to be able to switch instruments in and out for specific songs.

Obviously, everyone has their own personal preference.

5. Strategies

Over time, you begin to develop your own strategy, however these are just basic guidelines:

Sing separate songs for Melees and Mages. A good way to do this effectively is to use Wind instruments, so you can control the AOE range of your songs more accurately.

Melees get 2 of the "3 M's": Madrigal, Minuet, March.
There is debate over which are the most effective, however I generally use Madrigal+Minuet unless my party requests otherwise.

At low levels, there aren't really any Mage-specific songs worth casting. At 25, when you get Mage's Ballad, is when you'll first have to deal with Mage and Melee separation. Etudes are useful on Mages, however Learned Etude for +INT seems to be much more useful than Spirited Etude for +MND. Unless there is a BLM in my party, I usually don't bother with Mage Etudes, and instead spend my time on other things.

When you get Mage's Ballad II, the generally accepted practice is to cast Ballad I+II for the Mages.

To start a battle, I generally sing Madrigal just as the puller comes into view. It will land just as he arrives at the party. I then sing Minuet, Elegy, Threnody, and Requiem.

After this, I Cure, re-Debuff, and melee as necessary. It is important to be very adaptable as a Bard.

When the mob has a sliver of life left, I time my Paeon so it hits just as it dies. If there was no AOE attack and Paeon isn't necessary, I hit * to unlock from the mob and align myself so I hit the Paladin/Dark Knight and the Mages with Ballad just as the battle ends. If the puller pulls fast enough, that Ballad will last the Mages through 90% of the next battle.

Of course, different party make-ups and different situations require different tactics. Some days my strategy differs greatly from that one, but the same general principles hold true. It is important to be very aware of what's going on around you, and make decisions on the fly.

6. FAQ

Q - What is the difference between Wind and String instruments?
A - Wind instruments have a shorter range, and Stringed have larger range. By the time you hit level 25, you should have a pretty damn good idea of the range of your instruments. This becomes very important when you want to hit only certain party members with a given song.

Q - Should I go for CHR or MP?
A - Well, I discussed this a little bit above, but I'll write again here. MP is probably the most useful for leveling, assuming you have a WHM sub. However, if you find your debuffs getting resisted all the time, you probably want to switch out some MP gear for CHR instead. For BCNMs, your main focus should be CHR.

Q - What weapon should I use?
A - Also discussed above, the popular weapons seem to be (in order) Dagger, Sword, Staff (only if Monster Signa).

Q - Should I melee during battle?
A - Yes! However, don't let it distract you from any other duties. Meleeing can add a little bit of damage that is better than simply doing nothing. But if someone needs curing, or if songs need recasting, don't hesitate to make that your priority over meleeing. In some situations, I've even rested for MP during battle instead of meleeing. However, 90% of the time, I get about 5 weapon swings in. This is also important for keeping your weapon skill capped for farming or fighting Maat.

Q - What foods should I use?
A - There's not a lot of CHR foods that are really worth it. I've found Pies that add to max MP have been the most worthwhile. Having that extra MP often allows me to cast an extra Curaga that I normally wouldn't have been able to do. A popular CHR food is San d'Orian Tea.

Q - Do I need Monster Signa?
A - You don't NEED it, but it's awesome to have. Even though it's available at level 17, you won't have a lot of problems sticking debuffs at that level. However, if you like to have the absolute best of everything, I'd suggest getting it around level 40. This way, you can use it for BCNM, and sticking debuffs when they start to get really hard to stick (55+ from what I've heard). However, for EXP leveling, make sure you buy all your +1 instruments before you get the Signa, as they will give you a more noticeable improvement.

Q - What do instruments that add +1 to a song do?
A - For Debuffs, they make them stick better, and increase duration. For Buffs, they increase effectiveness (Minuet adds more attack with Cornette than without) and also increase duration. Unfortunately, Ballad has no +1 instrument.

Q - Do copies of the same song stack?
A - No. However, you can stack I and II versions of the same song for buffs. Paeon I & Paeon II stack. But you cannot have 2 copies of Paeon II. On mobs, you can have 1 Elegy, 1 Threnody, and 1 Requiem.

Q - How do I become a Bard?
A - Click here.

Q - Where should I buy my songs?
A - Click here.

Q - Post other FAQ's if you think of them, I'll add them later.
A - Thanks.

I kinda threw this together in an hour, I know I'm missing things, so feel free to add. Thanks.