Cryptic crossword clue
Piano work each recruit played, maintaining tempo 12

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word ARCHITECTURE

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
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Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Piano work" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case piano work = architecture.
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 ARCHITECTURE mean?

ARCHITECTURE noun
  1. The art and science of designing and managing the construction of buildings and other structures, particularly if they are well proportioned and decorated.
  2. The profession of an architect.
  3. Any particular style of building design.
  4. Construction, in a more general sense; frame or structure; workmanship.
  5. A unifying structure.
  6. A specific model of a microchip or CPU.
  7. The structure and design of a system or product.

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