About me - Alice Bulmer: music, ecology and living well in challenging times

My life with music

I know what it feels like, to want to play the music that makes your heart sing.

But to not know how to get there.

At the age of six I experienced the joy of soul-aligned music, when my mother, Sue, introduced me to the ukulele. She taught me three chords and three songs.

I can still remember the delight and certainty of that moment.

I thought: “This is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life!”

And then I spent nearly 50 years trying to get back to that feeling.

But it wasn’t that easy.

Having started me off, my mother didn’t follow up. She had three children and a passion for being an archaeologist. She just had too many other things to do.

Soon afterwards, I was sent off to violin lessons. Which weren’t fun or joyful. The teacher was mean and scary.

I did 15 years of classical music training on violin, viola and piano. All the way to university, before I finally accepted that playing classical music wasn’t where I wanted to be. Even though I loved JS Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos.

Having a PTSD “rabbit in the headlights” experience whenever I stood on stage or did an exam didn’t help.

There were plenty of other musical opportunities. Playing bluegrass fiddle was followed by 20 years in rock bands, on a variety of instruments including violin, bass guitar, drums.

I made records, wrote songs and even appeared in a few videos.

I’ve contributed music in early childhood education and in dementia facilities. I‘ve sung in a cappella vocal groups. I’ve played fiddle for rooms full of joyous folk dancers.

I loved all this musical exploration. But I didn’t find a music-related occupation or genre that really felt like home. In between, I spent long periods burned out, frustrated and not making music.

Finally, I signed up to work with a life coach.

Within a few months I found my way back to the ukulele. And I learned to create my own musical space in the world.

On Saturday afternoons you’ll find me strumming and singing my heart out with my friends in the Strumbles, our nine-member ukulele group. That’s my happy place.

For ten years I’ve run an online business teaching ukulele both locally and internationally.

I’ve taken hundreds of adults through the tender process of learning to play an instrument and sing at the same time.

But I don’t think everyone should have to spend quite as long as I did on unmapped roads, before I reached my musical home ground.

Can I help you? Click here to find out about how I work.

A bit more about me:

I live in the Waikato region of Aotearoa-New Zealand.
I love working and playing with folk all over the world via online platforms. Which is great, because New Zealand is far, far away from everywhere else!
When I’m not making music, I’m often thinking about food. My blog, the Waikato Foodbasket, celebrates the local food of my region of New Zealand.
I’m a student of Sarah Peyton’s Resonant Language Healing. I love this modality for its potential to heal relational trauma and repattern our brains, with kindness and compassion.
I trained as a coach with Julie Parker’s Beautiful You Coaching Academy. I chose this training because I resonate with Julie’s values and her view of coaching for empowerment and social change.
I trained with sound healer and voice coach Dominique Oyston’s Goddess Voice Academy for three years.
Some of my other trainings and qualifications are in early childhood creativity, expressive arts therapies and journalism.
I spent my childhood in Papua New Guinea. If you’re curious about why, read about my adventurous parents here: My father the giant and The family bat.
I used to be annoyed at Alice in Wonderland, but now I’m embracing my namesake.