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"And the bard slowly draws her blade while simultaneously beginning a deep, primal chant that brings her fellow monster-hunters into a combat focus..."

Ok so if you ever watched the original Conan movie (with Arnold) most of the fight music was deep chanting that didn't really form words, like a baseline in good rock music. No 'lalala', more like 'eeeya, boom boom eeeya, boom boom, etc. Some of the fights and action sequences in the Lord of the Rings movies are the same way. For the roleplaying part, try using a thick book and just tap out a deep sounding drum beat on it, or just try using a chant from a movie or something.

But yeah, pulling out a mandolin when others are drawing swords and axes would be stupid, so stick to mainly using vocals in tight situations like fights.

By the way, bards are actually just about the best at a couple of things... information gathering being most prominent. High charisma allows for better reactions when trying to gather information, and when using diplomacy. Take knowledge- history, it gives a bonus to your Bardic lore checks! You can spread the points out a little to simulate the 'jack-of-all-trades' aspect early in the campaign, then focus on 1 or 2 areas once things get moving and you know what general areas the party needs more of. I love that 3rd edition gave bards some healing spells, including some mid-level spells. Knowledge skills and languages--- BARDS RULE AT THESE. No other character class has the variety of knowledge skills and languages combined with a good number of skills points.

Back in 2nd edition, they came out with a multiclass combination that I fell in love with, and still love it for 3rd/3.5 ed. Ranger/Bard. Maybe add a level or 2 of ranger to boost his/her combat abilities without having to give up any skill development, since both get lots of skill points. Only a level here and there, I don't mean giving up the focus of being a bard, just a supplement to his/her abilities.