Though soft and gentle, it can be serious (6)

I believe the answer is:

plight

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'it can be serious' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'though soft and gentle' is the wordplay.
'though soft' becomes 'p' (musical abbreviation for 'piano', soft. I am not sure about the 'though' bit.).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'gentle' becomes 'light' (synonyms).
'p'+'light'='PLIGHT'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for plight that I've seen before include "Serious predicament" , "Quandary, predicament" , "Unlucky situation; promise" , "Dilemma" , "Unfortunate position" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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