Bardic Magic

I'll begin by saying that I am a huge fan of bards and once played a hobgoblin bard named Rook in a PbP game. But to me, something is missing from the bard class. How does their magic really work?

I realize that we are supposed to assume all bardic abilities related to the actual performance of music are magical, but there has always been a barrier there for me. I simply find it difficult to imagine myself fighting harder or better because someone is singing at the back of the room. What would they be singing that would spur me so? If it were real life, it would have to be a song I already knew, and one that I had a deep personal connection with. So how does the bard create music that touches every member of the party in such a way that they are all "inspired?" If anything, I would find such engaging sounds distracting.

As a professional musician myself, perhaps I over analyse these concepts about how a party gains +1 to-hit from the bard's ballad. Perhaps as part of the bard's magical ability, he can intuitively know which style of song will affect his companions, or even enemy monsters. Which brings me to another question.

If monsters are affected by a bard's music, is it because they have some crude form of music in their own society and therefore have an emotional relationship with the medium of song, or because they have never heard such sounds before and are overcome by wonder and awe? Or perhaps a bard's music has nothing to do with why listeners are affected. Perhaps it is simply the component or ritual used to channel their spells, in which case they might be considered inferior to illusionists and druids who can cast magic without producing sound at a volume that might make them vulnerable to enemy discovery.

If an enemy is deafened or some form of sound barrier is in effect, such as being underwater, are the bard's spells nullified?

What are your answers to these questions? What are bards like in your campaign? Are they simply vocal wizards, or is there an entirely different explanation for their abilities?