Spellcraft to use Bard songs?

[RtrnofdMax]

For a bard to give an ally a new save via Countersong and Distract, will he have needed to have identified the spell while it was being cast? Some spells are pretty clearly sparkly lights or "Do This!" in a booming voice, but I can see room for a DM to say that you need to know what is afflicting your ally to help him out of it.

Another example is the Honor Bound ability for a Honor subdomain cleric. Does he have to know that an enchantment spell was cast to snap his buddy out of it?

[Ezekiel W]

It seems reasonable to identy a susceptible spell to justify using a character power that grants a new saving throw. Or try blindly if you're willing to potentially waste an action.

Since speech is an action that may be taken by any character out of their turn, a spell could be identified by anyone in the party and the information shared.

Spellcraft is used to identify a spell being cast, Knowledge (Arcana) to identify an ongoing spell effect.