by Alice Bulmer | Jun 27, 2019 | Music and wellbeing
Music is healing, in the widest sense of the word. This subject is very close to my heart. It underpins the reasons why I teach ukulele and make music in the way I do. In this post I’ll take a general look at some of the ways in which music is being used to heal. It’s...
by Alice Bulmer | Apr 3, 2019 | Beginner ukulele, Music and wellbeing, Ukulele teaching
I’m a ukulele teacher. I’m not a singing teacher. But singing is central to the way I teach and play ukulele. For me, the whole purpose of playing the ukulele is to sing songs. Singing is one of the great routes to joy. And singing songs that you love makes it even...
by Alice Bulmer | Feb 2, 2019 | Beginner ukulele, Music and wellbeing, Ukulele history, Ukulele songs
You Are My Sunshine is absolutely one of the most useful songs you can play on ukulele. It’s a children’s song, and it’s also very popular with the older generation. It’s easy enough for beginners to play. Everyone knows the chorus. And it has an interesting...
by Alice Bulmer | Dec 10, 2018 | Community music, Music and wellbeing, Ukulele beginners
When we start playing ukulele a world of unforseen possibilities opens up. I’m not exaggerating! This happened for me, and I’ve seen it working like this for many others. Beyond performing There’s a common attitude that making music is about performing, whether it’s...
by Alice Bulmer | Oct 7, 2018 | Music and wellbeing, Ukulele beginners, Ukulele strumming
With the ukulele, you get to play the music you love. My aim as a teacher is to fast-track you to the place where you can play the music that makes your heart sing. Because that’s the most fun thing in the world. Yes, making music is fun anyway. But it’s exponentially...
by Alice Bulmer | Jul 20, 2017 | Music and wellbeing
This post was originally published on my writer’s blog www.alicebulmer.com in 2016. My mother, Sue Bulmer, passed away in October 2016. How can music improve the lives of people with dementia? Every couple of weeks I drive to Auckland to make music with my...