Poke gently with a stick (4)
I believe the answer is:
prod
'poke' is the definition.
(I know that poke can be written as prod)
'gently with a stick' is the wordplay.
'gently' becomes 'p' (musical abbreviation for 'piano', softly).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a stick' becomes 'rod' (I've seen this before).
'p'+'rod'='PROD'
(Other definitions for prod that I've seen before include "Poke, jab, nudge" , "Remind (with elbow or stick?)" , "Poke (with a finger, etc)" , "Poke, stimulate into action" , "Motivate; jab" .)