I'm Crier Sharpsong, a 26th half-elf Bard on Fennin Ro.

I've been having a recurring problem getting my Brass skill up and would
like to ask people here about it. I've read time and again that I should
venture to Arena or a PvP area, start Denon's Disruptive Discord and leave
it running indefinitely to increase my skill. However, I have not been
successful in getting that to work. Initially I went to Arena in Rathe Mts.
and tried this. I had read that you only needed to be in the area, not
actually in the PvP area itself, so I equipped my Minotaur Horn, fired up,
fired up, fired up, fired up, fired up, fired up, fired up, fired up, DDD
and went to a restaurant for dinner. Before I left I noticed that the
"plays horn" graphic wasn't running, but didn't think much about it. Got
back from dinner to find zero skill increase. Hmm.. Ok, perhaps I *do*
have to be in the PvP area, so I tried that. Same results. Ok, maybe it's
the Minotaur Horn - maybe it's the problem. So the next time I was in the
bank and thought about it, I traded out my Minotaur Horn (tired of the bag
in my wrist anyhow) for a standard store-bought horn. Last night I tried
practicing this song in the PvP area of Freeport and it again wouldn't
actually play. Well now I have gone to Kelethin and bought Screech and am
completely unable to start the song due to my brass skill. I tried to start
Screech (literally) about 300 times last night with and without the horn
equipped and had *one* success - not too useful.

When there is not a mob within range of my song, what I get is DDD starts, I
briefly get some orange flares from my hands and then it's just me standing
there. No playing horn graphic, no orange flares, nothing.

Can anyone comment on this and/or offer a solution? I *need* this song, but
if Verant has changed it so that the only way for me to increase my Brass
skill is to fight experience-giving mobs with it, I'm screwed. I *WILL* die
trying to get DDD and/or Screech fired up against a blue mob.

Crier Sharpsong - 26th on Fennin Ro