Musical idea in Leith emerges (5)
I believe the answer is:
theme
'musical idea' is the definition.
(as in a musical motif or theme)
'in leith emerges' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'THEME' is hidden within 'leith emerges'.
(Other definitions for theme that I've seen before include "Topic, leitmotif" , "Recurrent unifying idea" , "Topic; melody" , "Melody on which variations are constructed" , "Motif, topic" .)