8 Surprising Facts About For3v3rfaithful's Ellen Chang!

Ellen Chang is a singer, musician and guitar teacher best known for her hugely successful YouTube channel, for3v3rfaithful, where she shares covers as well as in-depth music tutorials. We chatted with Ellen to find out what she's all about and get the inside scoop on how she got to where she is today!

What makeup product could you not live without?

1. This is hard. It's either between mascara or lip stain. Mascara just makes your eyes look bigger and more awake, which I think is important if you're running out the door and don't have time to do a full face. But lip stain kind of makes me look healthier and stands out against my skin tone, so I think it's important too… Both?

What's your favorite guilty pleasure movie?

2. Can we be honest? Let's just be honest. Mean Girls. It gets the sassy out of me every time.

What's the weirdest thing in your purse right now?

3. I actually have 2 large chocolate chip cookies in there right now. I don't know why or how they got there. But I think I'll eat them.

What one thing do you never leave home without?

4. That would definitely be my cell phone. I didn't used to be like this! I swear! But ever since I got my first iPhone 2 years ago and discovered all the fun you can have with so many apps, I've become slightly addicted. Plus, how else can I keep in touch with my subscribers if I don't have access to Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube at all times?

What's the last song you had stuck in your head?

5. I just got home and was listening to Taylor Swift's "1989" album in the car, so that would be "Wonderland" by Taylor Swift. <3

Do you have any secret talents?

6. Hmm… I shop really fast. Is that a talent? Like, when I go to the mall with my friends, I'm always the first one in the check out line while the rest of them are still trying out clothes. I'm going to pretend that's a talent.

Who's your biggest inspiration as a guitarist?

7. I know the expected answer is Taylor Swift since I love her so much, but actually she's more of my inspiration as a songwriter. As far as guitar goes, I'd say Antoine Dufour is definitely someone I look up to and strive to be like. He is incredibly talented and if you don't know who he is, I suggest you watch one of his videos. Any of them. They're all amazing. (And if you were looking for a more popular answer, then I guess Ed Sheeran will do.)

If you could have any meal right this second, what would it be?

8. This is an impossible question to answer. There's so much food out there! And it's all delicious! If I could travel around the world and just eat as a profession, I would immediately take it up! But I suppose right at this second, I wouldn't mind some delicious sushi and then maybe a gooey chocolate cake.

How did you start playing the guitar?

Well, when my older brother was in high school, he made a band with some of his friends and taught himself how to play guitar for it. Then he moved to China for a few years and left his guitar in his room… So of course I snuck in every once in a while and "borrowed" his chord books so I could teach myself guitar too! I'd been playing violin for years at that point, so I wanted to learn another instrument that I could sing with. I tried learning piano but it was a little bit harder, so when I seemed to get the hang of guitar pretty quickly, I decided to make it my new hobby. Been playing ever since!

How did you come up with the username for3v3rfaithful? What does it say about you, and how do you get that across in your music?

I actually came up with the name a long time ago, when I was still in high school. Going to church and living life according to the Bible was super important to me at that time, so I came up with this name to use as an online thing. I used it for everything, from emails, to AIM, to Myspace and everything in between! When I decided to make a Youtube channel, "for3v3rfaithful" was the name I used for everything else, so I just stuck with it. But I had no idea it was going to stick with me all this time! Now that I'm older, I realize you can take it in so many ways. I'm still for3v3rfaithful to my beliefs and morals, but the name also applies to my love for music, and I don't think that'll ever change.

In addition to covers, you post a lot of guitar tutorials on your YouTube page. What inspired you to do that? Do you teach guitar lessons in real life?

So my channel started off as just somewhere I could post videos of me singing my favorite songs. Then when I couldn't find good instrumentals, I decided to accompany myself with the guitar. One day, I got a comment of someone asking me "How did you play that? What are the chords? Can you teach me?" and I decided I had nothing else to do that day, so I recorded my first tutorial. When it got a pretty positive response and people left comments that I was able to explain it well, I started putting in more effort with editing and such until they've evolved into the tutorials you see online today! I don't teach guitar lessons in real life, although sometimes I'll have giveaways for my subscribers where we set up a time to Skype. That's when they request something specific and I try my best to help them learn something new through video chat. I think it's been working out pretty well! (I hope! lol)

What advice do you have for aspiring guitarists?

Please don't give up. I know it's hard at first… blisters on your fingers, strings breaking, that buzzing sound that never goes away… but I PROMISE after more and more practice, those things will fade or be less irritating because you'll start to learn how to prevent them better. Researching and watching videos can be helpful, but nothing beats good, old-fashioned practice. You have to be committed and stick to it every day if you expect to improve. For some people who already play an instrument, it might take less time and be a little easier to pick up. If guitar is the first thing you've every tried to learn, it might obviously take more time. Everyone learns differently and takes a different amount of time to accomplish things, but if you get frustrated and just quit, then you'll definitely never get better! Start out simple and remember that YOU CAN DO IT! 🙂

Love for3v3rfaithful? Share your thoughts in the comments and upload your own guitar videos at SweetyHigh.com.