Like a tuned piano worked some of the time swallowing note (8)
I believe the answer is:
tempered
'like a tuned piano worked some of' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'time swallowing note' is the wordplay.
'time' becomes 'temped' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'swallowing' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'note' becomes 're' (as in do-re-mi).
'temped' placed around 're' is 'TEMPERED'.
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tempered that I've seen before include "Made hard through heating and cooling" , "Strengthened" , "Heat-treated" , "See 7" , "Neutralised, counterbalanced" .)