Bard Quest

This quest involves no fighting at all, and will actually make you about four or five thousand gil. The quest starts in the Merry Minstrel Meadhouse (I-8) in Lower Jeuno. First talk to Mertaire, then Bki Tbujhja, then Tuh Almobankha. They will tell you about a song rune in Buburimu Peninsula. Now go outside to the Auction House and buy a "Parchment" from the Leathercrafting
materials section. I would recommend setting your HP in Jeuno. Hop on a chocobo in Port Jeuno and be prepared for a long ride.

Make your way to Buburimu (Sauromugue Champaign -> Meriphataud Mountains Tahrongi Canyon -> Buburimu Peninsula). Head to the Khoonta Dunes at G-9. If you're on foot, watch for Bogeys. Once you hit the shore, head west along the water through the cave. Once you're out, go NW for a short while to the Song
Rune at F-9. Dismount and trade the Parchment to the runes for a cutscene.Head back to Jeuno. Fastest way is probably to run to Windurst, change to a
level 1 class, and suicide back to Jeuno, but whatever. Once there, talk to Mertaire for another cutscene and some gil. Talk to Bki Tbujhja (damn her parents) to get information on another song rune in Valkurm Dunes. Hop another chocobo in Upper Jeuno and off you go.

In the Valkurm Dunes, head N-W towards the secret beach at B-7. Once you're through the tunnel, stick to the left hand wall and you'll find the rune easily. Click on the song rune for another cutscene, some more gil, and the bard flag. Congratulations, you're now a bard!

04 - Subjobs
There aren't many viable bard combinations. I'm not going to say that certain combinations suck (they do), just that they aren't the "best" (because they suck). These include, in no particular order, Paladin, Dark Knight, Warrior, Monk, Beast Master, Dragoon, Samurai, and Ranger. The main problem with all these classes is that they are there to do melee damage. As a bard in a good group, you simply won't have time to do much melee. What with trying to keep 2 offensive and 4+ defensive songs going, there isn't a huge window to smack things around. Bards also don't get many good weapons. So, without further rambling, here are the other subjobs.

White Mage:
Far and away the most popular choice. Subbing white mage will allow you to cure damage, remove status effects, debuff, and cast the bar-ra spells. Really, there aren't enough good things I can say about the WHM sub. An added bonus is that starting at level 32, you can start doing the divine seal/curaga trick. Doing this mid-battle usually spells death for the WHM, since he has most likely been pumping out Cure & Cure IIs like mad. However, a bard can usually do this to save the party and still not get aggro. The extra HP and better armor on the bard doesn't hurt either.