The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word OBBLIGATO
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
O
B
B
L
I
G
A
T
O
More clues leading to the result OBBLIGATO
- Old bachelors engineered goal : it’s essential to the score
- Ex-pupil on bass got Ali to change musical accompaniment
- Boil T-bag? O, that’s misguided – this is indispensable
- Part that must be played by Bob, roughly half like silly goat
- Compulsory exercise for the players
- Ordinary 1D got bail-out that must be used in performance
- Part of the score Bilbao got wrong
- Part that must be played, being ordered to boil bag
- Loves keeping black jewellery— a ton, making essential accompaniment
- Bilbo got a wrong instruction for a musician
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Part that must be played" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case part that must be played = obbligato.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 OBBLIGATO mean?
OBBLIGATO noun- An obbligato section; a prominent countermelody, often written to be played or sung above the principal theme (in a higher pitch range).