Short note attached to cheese (5)
I believe the answer is:
brief
'short' is the definition.
('brief' can be a synonym of 'short')
'note attached to cheese' is the wordplay.
'note' becomes 'f' (musical note).
'attached to' says to put letters next to each other.
'cheese' becomes 'brie' (Brie is an example).
'f' put after 'brie' is 'BRIEF'.
(Other definitions for brief that I've seen before include "Terse" , "brusque > QC, perhaps" , "Using few words" , "Case given to a barrister" , "Prime" .)