Troubled by pitch of note and fade-out (4-4)
I believe the answer is:
tone-deaf
'troubled' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
'pitch of note and fade-out' is the wordplay.
'pitch of' is an anagram indicator (I've seen 'pitch' mean this (pitch can mean to throw or rock around)).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'out' indicates an anagram (out can mean wrong or inaccurate).
'note' anagrammed gives 'tone'.
'fade' with letters rearranged gives 'deaf'.
'tone'+'deaf'='TONE-DEAF'
'by' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tone-deaf that I've seen before include "Musically challenged" , "Unable to appreciate music" , "Not able to distinguish pitches" , "Without musical appreciation" , "To deafen? (anag)" .)