Emotional artist having retired stops playing flute (7)
I believe the answer is:
tearful
'emotional' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'artist having retired stops playing flute' is the wordplay.
'artist' becomes 'RA' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'having retired' says the letters should be written backwards.
'stops' indicates putting letters inside (stopping can mean blocking a gap).
'playing' is an anagram indicator.
'ra' back-to-front is 'ar'.
'flute' with letters rearranged gives 'teful'.
'ar' inserted within 'teful' is 'TEARFUL'.
(Other definitions for tearful that I've seen before include "Weepy" , "Visibly upset" , "visibly distressed" , "Inclined to cry" , "Lachrimose" .)