Dare to start again, quietly at first (7)
I believe the answer is:
presume
'dare' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'start again quietly at first' is the wordplay.
'start again' becomes 'resume' (I've seen this before).
'quietly' becomes 'p' (p for piano and quiet).
'at first' says to put letters next to each other.
'resume' after 'p' is 'PRESUME'.
'to' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for presume that I've seen before include "Supreme (anag)" , "Suppose without proof" , "Believe" , "Take for granted" , "Suppose; take liberties" .)