Son quietly studied magazine feature (6)
I believe the answer is:
spread
'magazine feature' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'son quietly studied' is the wordplay.
'son' becomes 's' (genealogical abbreviation for son).
'quietly' becomes 'p' (p for piano and quiet).
'studied' becomes 'read' (I've seen this before).
's'+'p'+'read'='SPREAD'
(Other definitions for spread that I've seen before include "Rancher's property - sumptuous meal" , "Sort of betting" , "Gradually reach a wider area" , "Scatter - padres (anag)" , "Apply thinly" .)