Crossword Genius

Work with a kind of musical note (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

operate

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'work' is the definition.
(I know that work can be written as operate)

'musical note' is the wordplay.
'musical' becomes 'opera' (I've seen this before).
'note' becomes 'te' (musical note as in do re mi fa so la ti).
'opera'+'te'='OPERATE'

'with a kind of' is the link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for operate that I've seen before include "Perform as surgeon does" , "Cause to function" , "Make to work" , "Perform surgery or run a machine" , "Manage, run" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app