Poke softly with stick (4)
I believe the answer is:
prod
'poke' is the definition.
(I know that poke can be written as prod)
'softly with stick' is the wordplay.
'softly' becomes 'p' (short for piano, musical term for softly).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'stick' becomes 'rod' (both can mean a pole).
'p'+'rod'='PROD'
(Other definitions for prod that I've seen before include "Push with pointed instrument" , "Poke with a stick" , "Poke with stiff finger to urge" , "Poke, jab, nudge" , "Goad, stimulate into action" .)