The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word MODULATED
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "varied" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case varied = modulated.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does MODULATED mean?
MODULATED verb- To regulate, adjust or adapt
- To change the pitch, intensity or tone of one's voice or of a musical instrument
- To vary the amplitude, frequency or phase of a carrier wave in proportion to the amplitude etc of a source wave (such as speech or music)
- To move from one key or tonality to another, especially by using a chord progression