Learn Hardcore Hungarian: Ez a gyors zene ma is szól a kávézóban. - This fast music is also playing today in the café.

ez by itself = this (as a standalone pronoun):
- Ez szól. = This is playing.
ez a
- noun = this [noun]:
  - Ez a zene szól. = This music is playing.

So in Ez a gyors zene, ez agrees with the noun zene and the article a is required after the demonstrative:
ez a zene, az a zene (not ez zene).

Why is gyors before zene, and does gyors change form?

Gyors is an attributive adjective (“fast / quick”) modifying zene (“music”), and in Hungarian, like in English, adjectives usually come before the noun:

gyors zene = fast music
szomorú zene = sad music
hangos zene = loud music

In this attributive position, gyors does not change form:

gyors zene (singular)
gyors zenék (plural)

The adjective doesn’t get a plural ending; only the noun does:
gyors zene → gyors zenék.

(Adjectives can be inflected in other structures, but not in this simple “adjective + noun” phrase.)

What exactly does ma is mean? Is it “still today” or “also today”?

Ma is literally: “today also” or “today too”.

Meaning-wise, in English you’ll usually translate it as:

“still (today)” – if you’re thinking it has been playing before and continues even today
- “That fast music is still playing in the café today.”
“today as well / today too” – if you’re contrasting with other days
- “That fast music is playing in the café today as well.”

Hungarian is is a focus particle meaning “also, too, as well”.

The nuance (still vs. also) comes from context more than from the word itself. Ma is just says “today too”; English chooses “still” or “also today” depending on what sounds natural.

Why is the verb szól used here instead of something like játszik (“to play”)?

Szól is a special Hungarian verb used for “sound is being heard / music is playing / something is ringing or sounding”.

In this sentence:

Ez a gyors zene ma is szól a kávézóban.
= Literally: “This fast music is (sounding) in the café today too.”
Natural English: “This fast music is still playing in the café today.”

Typical uses of szól:

Zene szól. – Music is playing / There is music.
A telefon szól. – The phone is ringing.
Halkan szól a rádió. – The radio is playing quietly.

Játszik (“play”) is used with a human (or band) as subject:

A zenekar játszik. – The band is playing.
A DJ gyors zenét játszik. – The DJ is playing fast music.

So:

If you describe the music itself being heard → szól
If you emphasize the person/band playing it → játszik

What tense and person is szól, and where is the subject pronoun?

Szól here is:

Present tense
3rd person singular
Indefinite conjugation (because we’re not acting directly on a definite object; we’re just stating what the music does)

The implicit subject is ez a gyors zene:

(Ez a gyors zene) ma is szól a kávézóban.
= This fast music is (currently) playing in the café today too.

Hungarian normally does not use subject pronouns (like ő) unless you want to stress them. The subject is clear from context and from the verb form.

Why do we say a kávézóban and not just kávézóban?

A kávézóban = in the café (specific / known café)
kávézóban (without article) sounds like “in a café” / “in some café”, more generic.

Hungarian uses the definite article a / az similarly to English the:

a kávézó – the café
a boltban – in the shop
a parkban – in the park

In this sentence, a kávézóban suggests a specific café the speakers have in mind (e.g. that café they both know).

What is the -ban ending in kávézóban, and how does it work?

-ban / -ben is the inessive case ending, meaning “in, inside”.

kávézó – café
kávézóban – in the café

Vowel harmony decides between -ban and -ben:

After back vowels (a, á, o, ó, u, ú): -ban
- boltban – in the shop
- szobában – in the room
After front vowels (e, é, i, í, ö, ő, ü, ű): -ben
- kertben – in the garden
- üzletben – in the store

Kávézó has á and ó (back vowels), so it takes -ban → kávézóban.

Can the word order be changed, like Ma is szól ez a gyors zene a kávézóban? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, Hungarian word order is quite flexible, but it changes focus and emphasis.

Ez a gyors zene ma is szól a kávézóban.
Neutral-ish: focuses on this fast music as topic; says it’s also playing today in the café.
Ma is szól ez a gyors zene a kávézóban.
Now “ma is” (today too) is stronger: “Today too, this fast music is playing in the café.”
You’re highlighting today as well.

Both are grammatically correct and mean essentially the same thing; the difference is which part you stress in the flow of information. In everyday speech you’ll hear several variants depending on what the speaker wants to emphasize.

How would I say “This fast music is playing again today in the café” instead of “today too/still”?

To express “again”, Hungarian typically uses megint or újra:

Ez a gyors zene ma megint szól a kávézóban.
Ez a gyors zene ma újra szól a kávézóban.

Both mean: “This fast music is playing again in the café today.”

Difference:

megint – everyday, neutral, very common.
újra – a bit more formal or “neat”, often used in writing, but also fine in speech.

Ma is focuses on “today too / still today”, while ma megint or ma újra focuses on the repetition of the event.

How do I make this sentence plural, like “These fast songs are still playing in the café today”?

You need to pluralize the demonstrative, the noun, and the verb:

Ezek a gyors zenék ma is szólnak a kávézóban.
= “These fast songs are still playing in the café today.”

Changes compared to the original:

Ez → Ezek (this → these)
zene → zenék (music/song → songs)
szól → szólnak (3rd person singular → 3rd person plural)

Structure:

Ezek a
- plural noun → Ezek a gyors zenék = These fast songs
Verb agrees in number → szólnak.

What’s the difference between gyors and gyorsan here?

gyors = fast (adjective)
gyorsan = fast, quickly (adverb)

In the sentence, gyors describes the kind of music:

gyors zene – fast music (e.g. quick tempo)

If you want to say “The music is playing fast (quickly)”, you’d use gyorsan:

A zene gyorsan szól. – The music is playing fast/quickly.
(Here gyorsan modifies the verb szól, not the noun.)

So:
gyors zene – fast music (the music itself is of fast tempo)
gyorsan szól a zene – the music is sounding/playing quickly.

Is zene countable in Hungarian? Can I say egy zene like “a music”?

Zene is mostly uncountable, similar to “music” in English.

Common uses:

Szeretem a zenét. – I like music.
Hangos zene szól. – Loud music is playing.

You usually don’t say egy zene in the sense of “a piece of music / a song”. Instead you use:

egy dal – a song
egy szám (colloquial) – a song / a track
egy zenedarab – a musical piece (more formal)

So if you want to count songs:

két dal – two songs
három szám – three tracks/songs

Zene stays more abstract or mass-like, just as “music” does in English.