Guide to Minstrel in Lord of the Rings Online

The Minstrels in the Lord of the Rings online have been the class that everyone else loves to hate, the wussy troubadours that are tuning their lute in the background whilst everyone else is clonking orcs and goblins by the troll-load. Yet over a quarter of the Turbine chaps play as these like Elves, Hobbits and Humans are the best Minstrels possibly because they're essential for Fellowships; there's little point in going into an instance without a Minstrel, despite each class's buffing and patching-up abilities, because only the minstrel has the ability to "heal".
As one of the most complex classes to use, the Minstrels are one of the most rewarding to master accordingly. They can play any instrument in the game, which means that they have the ability to make full use of the bizarrely comprehensive music-crafting abilities in the game.
Playing as a Minstrel is a bit like playing a strategy game or spinning a hundred plates, what with the resource-management inherent in trying to keep your team-mates alive whilst stacking up songs. Your songs work in an odd way, strong ones stacking on top of weak ones to allow more powerful tunes, until you get to the top-end anthems after three songs; but as soon as a Minstrel deploys one of these, he'll have to start the chain over. The healing effect is slightly more obvious and easy to use, though Minstrels only get their resurrect spell at level 20 and that's only usable out of combat, so don't die.
The Minstrel will be the class of choice for players who want to aid their friends, inspiring them to keep going through the darkest of times. With a vast repertoire of tales both fair and foul, a Minstrel restores the morale of his fellows, as well as causing his enemies to despair. Though having the ability to wield weapons, he prefers to let his words, rather than his sword, speak for him. A Minstrel's style of combat is based on maintaining hope no matter what the odds.
A Minstrel brings hope to places thick with gloom. He can inspire those with desperate minds and heavy hearts to great deeds. In battle, he can turn the tide with songs that strengthen his allies and dirges which strike fear into the hearts of his enemies.
Note that there are a great many things to remember about Minstrels. First thing first, they can only heal with line of sight and they are only any good with no enemies attacking them as soon as that happens or they have to move, their ability to heal disappears. Secondly, if a Minstrel heals when one enemy is not aggroed, it will attack the Minstrel, so make sure that all the enemies in a fight are occupied. Finally, fellowships with two or three Minstrels in are not unheard of and can work quite well, just keep in mind that there is a trade-off somewhere, therefore, for every class you double up on in a fellowship; you're losing one other class.