Ellen Alaverdyan Feels the Groove

Hovak is a rock musician and music producer, which could explain her taking to music so naturally. For many years he produced records for many clients, though in the past six or seven years, he has been working on his own music. He said in Armenia, he worked with many pop stars and did a lot of session work.

“She was around music and musicians and a recording studio all the time. That’s the environment she grew up in and that was her day-to-day life,” he said.

Her father said that when Ellen was a baby, there was little indication that she had such explosive talent, but there were indications that she was musical. “She would pick up songs we would hear in the car. Just normal stuff.”

Viewers can see her on YouTube as she performs bass lines from Superfreak by Rick James, Good Times by Chic, Another One Bites the Dust by Queen and Can’t Stop by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among many others. She also does plenty of heavy metal ones from bands like Metallica, among others.

She looks like she is nowhere near breaking a sweat even when her fingers are practically a blur.

“It may look like that because I worked hard,” she replied with a sweet laugh. “It’s not every single day that I practice. When I do, I don’t count, but maybe around two hours a day.”

Ellen said that she does not take formal music lessons but aside from practicing, she is working on learning how to read music.

“I can’t read notes fast, but I can understand them,” Ellen said.

Hovak first started posting videos of Ellen playing bass four years ago. “I didn’t have any expectations. I just posted it to see what happens,” he said.

The reaction has been tremendous, to say the least.

In fact, word got out and she ended up on the “Steve Harvey Show” at the ripe old age of 9 three years ago, performing to the delight of the grooving audience and meeting a hero, funk bassist Bootsy Collins, most famously with Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as Verdine White, the bassist for one of her favorite bands, Earth Wind and Fire. Ellen fell into Harvey’s arms crying tears of joy while many in the audience were wiping tears of their own.

“At that point I had just begun to play. I was new and I guess I wasn’t very prepared for the Steve Harvey show,” she said. “I’m kind of used to talking in front of a camera. Now I’m a little bit more used to being interviewed.”

Ellen started playing bass six years ago after she had tried some other musical instruments.

“I don’t remember specifically choosing the bass. I just kind of started and continued. I had started a lot of instruments but haven’t continued,” she said.

“I’m pretty sure,” rhythm is what she responds to.

“Anything else that I play isn’t as advanced as the bass. I played a couple of songs on the piano, a little on the drums and I played one song on acoustic guitar or ukulele, she said.

When asked to name some of her favorite bassists as well as musicians, she replied, “There are so many. Paul McCartney. I like Paul McCartney as an artist and a bassist,” adding that she really admires the styles of bassist I like Victor Wooten of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, jazz bassist Richard Bona among others. As for bands, she said she loves the progressive rock group Tool, as well as Queen.

“I don’t even count the Beatles. I think everyone knows that,” Ellen said.

She is not a huge fan of heavy metal, but she gets thrown a lot of metal challenges by fellow musicians on YouTube.

“It’s not that I hate heavy metal, but I like progressive rock and most of the bass lines were similar [to heavy metal] and they were good bass lines,” she noted.

She added, “If I like the song I like the song. If I like how it sounds, it gets stuck in my head, I like to listen to it and I play it.”

In addition to the challenges, she releases various favorite top 10 bass lines in different categories.

Ellen is home schooled but takes some classes, like art, chess and Armenian language. “Everything is once a week. On a typical day I will watch something, or call a friend, besides practicing,” Ellen said. “Usually people think I don’t do anything else but I do board games, painting, chess or watch movies.”

At home, the family speaks Armenian and therefore Ellen is fluent. “It’s my first language. I speak more Armenian than English. I don’t speak English at home,” she said.

It’s not just her father that influences her. Ellen praised her mother as “artistic,” noting “that is where I get my creative side.”

And don’t expect Ellen’s friends to be aware of the noted musicians she duets with or be impressed with her view count or for that matter for her to brag.

“Most of my friends didn’t even know until a while ago” about the YouTube and Instagram posts, she said. “It’s not the first thing I tell them. It’s not like it’s anything too big anyway and it’s not the reason they are talking to me. When they find out they do know they say ‘cool’ and forget about it.”

The father and daughter are now working on releasing an album of original works. They have one full-time collaborator — Ara Torosyan, known as Murzo on keyboards— and are looking for a full-time drummer. They already have about seven songs finished with a session drummer.

Hovak said that they are not going to go after a record deal, and instead will release it themselves. “We have all the resources. We are able to do it independently,” he said.

Hovak said he would be supportive if Ellen wanted to pursue a music career. “If she wants to, yes,” he said. “The only thing I can say is that it would be easy for her, given the fact that I’m in the industry and I have the contacts.”

No date has been set for the record release. “We need a few more songs to write and produce,” he said.

The two have sponsorships and endorsements, including Mayones basses, which is one of the most notable European bass brands.

Before that, plans are underway for a live show in Los Angeles sometime soon. They are nailing down details.

The path ahead appears bright for this young musician.