Ask sincerely and quietly for a bit of help (5)
I believe the answer is:
plead
'ask sincerely' is the definition.
'plead' can be an answer for 'ask' (thesaurus). I'm unsure of the 'sincerely' bit.
'quietly for a bit of help' is the wordplay.
'quietly' becomes 'p' (p for piano and quiet).
'for' says to put letters next to each other.
'a bit of help' becomes 'lead' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'p'+'lead'='PLEAD'
'and' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for plead that I've seen before include "advocate in court" , "Offer something in excuse!" , "Appeal earnestly" , "State whether one is guilty or not" , "Appeal humbly (to)" .)