Just a random idea...
I think it would be neat to have musical instruments that, when played, could be heard from off screen (kind of like combat sounds) and would throw up a flashing circle like a dowsing rod showing the direction of the sound. Imagine the possibilities.
1)
The heavy bronze bell in the village roundhouse tolled heavily. The farmers, out in the fields, dropped their hoes (hint hint) and grabbed their spears (hint hint), racing for the village center. This time, they were ready. With the help of the ranger they had recently hired, THIS bandit raid would be the last...
2) The wandering peddler began to play a tune on his pan pipes as he neared the village, as he always did. Almost immediately, a curious group of villagers began to leave their jobs and follow him to the village square, eager to see what good he had brought from far-off lands.
3) The hunter, about to claim and butcher the rabbit he had just managed to hunt down, paused when he heard the clarion call of the hunting horn. A horn...that could only mean one thing. Someone in the hunting party had cornered a bear, or more likely was cornered by it. The rabbit would have to wait. He grabbed the steel arrow he had used to kill the rabbit and sped off in the direction of the horn.