“There was an old guitar upstairs in my dad’s closet that always stood out to me, and I always knew that one day I would pick it up,” Ella Arnold ’27 said.
Arnold lives a double life: student by day, and a guitarist with over 43,000 TikTok followers by night. From teaching herself the basics amidst quarantine as an 11-year-old, to performing for over ten thousand people at iHeart Radio’s Jingle Ball, Ella has undoubtedly left her mark on the Ransom Everglades community.
Arnold’s journey started during quarantine amidst the 2020 pandemic, when she taught herself to play for the first three months. After those three months, she transitioned into formal lessons, consistently practicing week after week for five years. “I’ve been learning consistently for five years now—every Saturday,” she said.
Arnold started to post on TikTok in late 2024 because she was encouraged by her friends and family to share her music with the world.
“I always told Ella to post her covers,” said Holly Clement ’27. “She always posted them on her private story on Snapchat, but I knew that she would be able to reach a larger audience if she shared them on TikTok.”
Arnold’s covers on TikTok routinely receive views ranging from 100,000 to 2 million. Although what jumps out to most are the numbers on her videos, Arnold takes away something more special than just likes and views. She receives hundreds of DMs and comments from people asking her for tips about guitar, from tuning to actual playing techniques. “Helping other people makes me happier than likes or follows…Seeing how many people I’ve inspired through comments is really heartwarming—I’m grateful I can help others,” she said.
YMU, or Young Musicians Unite, has played one of the most important roles in Arnold’s musical career. YMU was founded to provide free access to music education for underprivileged students, collaborating with over 75 schools in Miami-Dade County and serving over 12,000 students. Arnold serves as an ambassador and is a part of a band named “Not Yet Published.” Her band plays around 20 shows per school year, each of which raises money to support the cause of helping aspiring young musicians.
YMU has not only given Arnold a place to showcase her talents; it has also given her a second family, she explained. “I feel like I have connected with people who speak the same language as me and have found a group of musically inclined people whom I can connect with,” she said.
Through YMU, she gives guitar lessons to underprivileged children at least once a month. “YMU has not only made me a better player, but a better person,” she said.
One of the most musically formative experiences Arnold has had so far has been playing at iHeartRadio’s annual Jingle Ball, opening for familiar names such as Zara Larsson and Machine Gun Kelly. Arnold described her time on stage, playing for the largest crowd she has ever stood in front of, as “a sneak peek of what pursuing music in the future could look like.”
Performing at that scale also gave Arnold the reassurance she needed to realize guitar was more than just a hobby. Standing in front of thousands of people, she discovered a level of comfort and confidence that confirmed music was something she wanted to continue pursuing. “Playing in front of at least 10,000 people really put into perspective how comfortable I am on stage,” she reflected.
Looking ahead, Arnold now knows the guitar is an essential part of her life. After years of practice, performance, and progress, she sees no reason to walk away from something that has shaped both her talent and her identity.
“I think not pursuing music would be throwing away all the progress that I’ve worked for,” she said. “I have invested so much time and resources in this talent, and I also want to pursue something I genuinely love. It is what my friends and family know me for; it is what I know myself for. It has become such a big part of me that if I didn’t do it in the future, I would regret it.”
