Yes, even though is a subordinating conjunction. Use it when the clause that follows states a fact your reader already knows, and that fact makes your main point surprising. Even though everyone played well, we lost the game.
So when you're telling a friend the team's effort didn't pay off, this wording sets up the known fact and lands the loss as the twist. What you'd expect simply didn't happen.
When your sentence shows a known fact being set aside
When you're texting a friend about the match: Even though everyone played well, we lost the game. You both know how the team played, so the clause restates that shared fact, and the loss lands as the surprising part.
When you're explaining why you stayed home: Even though I felt fine, I stayed in bed all day. The reader knows you weren't sick, so your choice reads as unexpected, and that's exactly the effect this wording gives you.
When you're admitting an obstacle but stressing the outcome: Even though the store was closed, she still got her refund. You're telling a colleague the closure didn't stop her, and the surprise is that it didn't. If the clause comes first, keep the comma as shown; drop it when the clause comes last, as in She still got her refund even though the store was closed.
So the condition is simple: if the clause states something your reader already accepts as true, and that fact makes your main point read as unexpected, even though is the wording that fits.
Even though I felt fine, I stayed in bed all day.
When the surprise is what you're stressing
Use even though when the clause that follows states a fact your listener already accepts, and that fact makes your main point read as unexpected. Even though she'd never touched a guitar before March, she played the whole set from memory. The listener knows she's new, so the set reads as the surprise.
If the surprise itself is what you want to stress, you don't need new wording; you need placement. Even though she'd never touched a guitar before March, she played the whole set from memory keeps the known fact as background, so your listener's attention lands on the feat.
When the known fact and the outcome feel evenly weighted, put the clause last: She played the whole set from memory, even though she'd never touched a guitar before March. Ending on the clause gives it the final position, which is where many writers naturally place what they're leaning on; read both versions aloud and keep the one that carries your point.
A quick check while you're composing: ask yourself whether the person you're writing to already believes the clause. If they'd nod at it, and it makes your main statement unexpected, even though fits. If they'd question the clause itself, you're not stating a known fact, and this isn't the connector for it.
One thing even though won't do is dramatize. It records the contrast as settled, so it suits reporting a twist, not building suspense. You've told us she's a beginner; that's settled. What remains surprising is only what she managed anyway.