Ongeag of die inleidingsmusiek speel, maak ons 'n toetsopname.

Ongeag of means regardless of whether.

• ongeag = regardless of
• of here introduces a clause, so together they mean regardless of whether ...

So the first part, Ongeag of die inleidingsmusiek speel, means Regardless of whether the intro music is playing.

Yes, of often means or, but not always.

In Afrikaans, of can also mean whether / if when it introduces an indirect yes/no idea. After ongeag, that is exactly what it does.

So in this sentence:

• of does not mean a choice like tea or coffee
• it means whether

That is why ongeag of is best understood as regardless of whether.

This is because Afrikaans main clauses follow the verb-second pattern.

The whole opening part, Ongeag of die inleidingsmusiek speel, comes first. Once that first position is occupied, the finite verb of the main clause must come next:

• Ongeag of ... , maak ons ...

not

• Ongeag of ... , ons maak ...

This is very common in Afrikaans. Compare:

• Vandag gaan ek huis toe.
• As dit reën, bly ons binne.

So maak ons is normal word order after a fronted clause.

Because this is not a direct question. It is an embedded clause after of.

A direct question would be:

• Speel die inleidingsmusiek? = Is the intro music playing?

But after of, Afrikaans uses subordinate-clause word order:

• of die inleidingsmusiek speel

So the subject die inleidingsmusiek comes before the verb here.

Yes. In Afrikaans, speel is commonly used when music, a film, a recording, or some audio is playing.

So:

• Die musiek speel = The music is playing
• Die lied speel op die radio = The song is playing on the radio

This is normal Afrikaans usage.

Afrikaans usually writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• inleidingsmusiek = intro music / introductory music
• toetsopname = test recording

This is one of the big spelling differences from English. Where English often uses two words, Afrikaans often combines them into a single compound noun.

'n is the Afrikaans indefinite article, meaning a or an.

So:

• 'n toetsopname = a test recording

A few useful things to know:

• It is written 'n, with an apostrophe first.
• It is usually unstressed in speech.
• It is pronounced like a weak uh sound, similar to the first sound in about.

Yes. Afrikaans does not usually make the same present-tense distinction that English does.

The simple present can cover:

• a general action
• a habitual action
• an action happening now

So in context:

• speel can mean plays or is playing
• maak can mean make, are making, or sometimes even will make, depending on context

Afrikaans often relies on context rather than a separate is + -ing form.

Because maak is a normal verb with many action nouns in Afrikaans, including recordings.

So:

• 'n opname maak = to make a recording
• 'n toetsopname maak = to make a test recording

Even if English might also say record in some situations, maak is completely natural here.

The comma separates the introductory clause from the main clause.

Here the sentence begins with:

• Ongeag of die inleidingsmusiek speel

and then moves to the main statement:

• maak ons 'n toetsopname

So the comma helps mark that boundary. In normal written Afrikaans, this punctuation is expected.