Tom perhaps in Ascot agitated, somewhat abrupt in bars? (8)
I believe the answer is:
staccato
'tom perhaps in ascot agitated somewhat abrupt in bars?' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'tom perhaps in ascot agitated' is the wordplay.
'tom perhaps' becomes 'cat' (a tom is a male cat).
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'agitated' indicates anagramming the letters.
'ascot' with letters rearranged gives 'staco'.
'cat' placed within 'staco' is 'STACCATO'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for staccato that I've seen before include "With every note detached in cats's coat" , "With notes sharply separated (music)" , "not to be played legato" , "Musically sharp and disconnected as in toccatas" , "with snappy sounds" .)