Army chaplain quietly read novel (5)
I believe the answer is:
padre
'army chaplain' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'quietly read novel' is the wordplay.
'quietly' becomes 'p' (p for piano and quiet**).
'novel' indicates anagramming the letters.
'read' anagrammed gives 'adre'.
'p'+'adre'='PADRE'
(Other definitions for padre that I've seen before include "Chaplain to armed forces" , "Cleric" , "Father" , "Army chaplain" , "Sky pilot (military slang)" .)