Ojalá no desafinemos durante la balada.

Because ojalá normally introduces a wish or hope, and Spanish usually uses the subjunctive after it.

So:

• Ojalá no desafinemos = Hopefully we won’t sing/play out of tune
• not Ojalá no desafinamos

Here, desafinemos is the present subjunctive form of desafinar for nosotros (we).

Ojalá means something like:

• I hope
• hopefully
• if only

It expresses a strong wish. In this sentence, it means Hopefully...

A useful thing to remember:

• ojalá + subjunctive is a very common pattern in Spanish.

Examples:

• Ojalá llueva. = I hope it rains.
• Ojalá lleguen pronto. = Hopefully they arrive soon.

It is first person plural: we.

The infinitive is desafinar = to be out of tune / to sing or play out of tune.

Present subjunctive of desafinar:

• yo desafine
• tú desafines
• él/ella/usted desafine
• nosotros/nosotras desafinemos
• vosotros/vosotras desafinéis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes desafinen

So desafinemos = that we sing/play out of tune.

In Spanish, no usually goes directly before the conjugated verb.

So:

• no desafinemos = let’s not / may we not sing out of tune

That is the normal position for negation in a sentence like this.

Compare:

• Cantamos. = We sing.
• No cantamos. = We don’t sing.

Here:

• Ojalá no desafinemos = Hopefully we won’t be out of tune

Desafinar means to be out of tune or to sing/play out of tune.

It can be used for:

• singing
• musical instruments
• sometimes more generally for producing the wrong pitch

So in this sentence, it most naturally means:

• Hopefully we don’t sing out of tune during the ballad

But it could also apply to instrumental performance, depending on context.

Durante means during, so it focuses on the time span of the ballad.

• durante la balada = during the ballad

That is the most direct translation here.

You might also hear en la balada in some contexts, but it would sound less precise for expressing during the course of the song. Durante is the clearer choice.

Here balada means ballad: a slow, emotional song.

So la balada probably refers to:

• a specific ballad in a performance
• the ballad section of a concert
• a song everyone knows from context

It does not usually mean a poem here, even though ballad in English can have literary meanings too.

Yes. That is also correct.

Both are natural:

• Ojalá no desafinemos durante la balada.
• Ojalá que no desafinemos durante la balada.

The que is often optional after ojalá. Leaving it out is very common.

Spanish often uses the definite article more than English does.

Here la balada suggests:

• a specific ballad already known from context
• the ballad in the performance/programme

So even if English might sometimes say during the ballad or during our ballad, Spanish naturally uses la balada in this kind of situation.

A rough guide would be:

oh-ha-LA no de-sa-fi-NE-mos du-RAN-te la ba-LA-da

A few details:

• ojalá: the j is the strong Spanish sound, like a throaty h
• the stress is on the last syllable: -lá
• desafinemos is stressed on -ne-
• durante is stressed on ran
• balada is stressed on la

In IPA for standard Peninsular Spanish, it is approximately:

[oxaˈla no desaɸiˈnemos duˈɾante la baˈlaða]

It usually refers to the future, or at least to something that has not happened yet.

Even though desafinemos is a present subjunctive form, Spanish often uses the present subjunctive for hoped-for future situations after ojalá.

So the idea is:

• Hopefully we won’t go out of tune when the ballad happens

Not:

• Hopefully we aren’t out of tune right now

Yes, absolutely. That is a very natural English rendering.

Possible translations include:

• Hopefully we won’t go off-key during the ballad.
• I hope we don’t sing out of tune during the ballad.
• Let’s hope we don’t go off-key during the ballad.

They all capture the same basic meaning and tone.