At what point does Bard's Music skill stop fizzling?

Hi, as a Christmas gift to my Ranger, I got her a scroll of trickery and changed her to a bard. So, um, her Music skill is now level 2, but she still fizzles when she uses the various pipes, or a Lute of Grace. How far do I have to train her music skill before she can cast spells from her instruments in harmony?

This reminds me of the time I was made to learn music notation and reach Grade 5 in clarinet in 6 months....

Oh yeah, also, I had the impression that musical instruments were meant to be equipped in the left arm - but they don't "fit" into that slot. Is this how things work then? That instruments are just backpack occupants?

[carg]

I haven't played with musical instruments too often, because of the inventory space, and I usually have the spells which effects they mirror. Casting the spell helps for training the magic skill, and it saves inventory space.
But my experience is that when you're as high level in music as you would be magic for the mirrored spell it mostly doesn't fizzle anymore. (So for the pipes of pain level 2 should suffice, while the lute of insanity (?) might require level 4, because it mirrors dementia.)

I am level 3 . . . so many skills to develop! You just use them from your backpack. Mine don't fizzle much but I am curious if it would fizzle more if monster was resistant to that type of magic . . . I must admit as an assassin mussy would much rather wield her wiz dagger and 2nd weapon. I sell most of mine weapons.

[Sazerac]

Apparently you don't equip them, you just "use" them. Unfortunately, they do take up inventory space, but it's worth while for certain spells such as "sleep" and "bless"; also "Heroic Might" is a great one; one of the instruments has that (pipes of power)? Basically it's "unlimited" as far as Mana goes, but also realize that the Bard's stamina goes down slightly every time the instruments are played. (Stamina is the blue bar when you're not casting magic...took me forever to figure that one out.)

Sazerac

Doesn't that mean that to a Bard, Stamina IS Mana? Can a bard still play when he's exhausted? Thanks for all the info!! By the way, carg, even at skill level 2 (Music), my bard still fizzles a lot with the Pipes of Pain. Guess I need more practice...

[carg]

Hmmm, I wonder if attributes play a part as well in the fizzling.
And about stamina: look at it as a seventh form of mana, next to the six spell classes. I never tried finishing all stamina, but I guess the music will automatically fizzle.