Herald quiet about bad fellow, type falling short (9)
I believe the answer is:
precursor
'herald' is the definition.
('precursor' can be a synonym of 'herald')
'quiet about bad fellow type falling short' is the wordplay.
'quiet' becomes 'p' (music symbol for 'piano').
'about' becomes 're' (regarding**).
'bad fellow' becomes 'cur'.
'type' becomes 'sort' (I've seen this before).
'falling short' means to remove the last letter.
'sort' with its last letter taken off is 'sor'.
'p'+'re'+'cur'+'sor'='PRECURSOR'
(Other definitions for precursor that I've seen before include "Something going in advance of another" , "harbinger of what is to follow" , "One coming before" , "Man coming before me" , "Herald" .)