Lisa Paglin and Marianna Brilla on the revolutionary singing technique that stops singers losing their voices

'The voice is the perfect musical instrument' When Lisa Paglin met Marianna Brilla, Marianna was questioning everything about the voice. Degrees from prestigious schools, international studies with 27 world-renowned teachers and a Fulbright Award had proven to her that clear criteria for achieving ease, perfect intonation and simple communication through the word in singing was no longer available anywhere. Despite personal dissatisfaction, she was sought after as a singer and began a successful career. But, determined to rediscover the foundations of fine singing, Marianna left the stage and began challenging fallacies, inaccuracies and misinformation. Lisa was an accomplished pianist and singer from early childhood. As a young soprano at the Vienna Staatsoper, she drew much praise for her voice and musicality, but confusing vocal instruction, combined with a period of poor health, threw her off-balance. Longing to return to effortless and joyful singing, Lisa consulted prominent teachers, to no avail. She joined Marianna, and together they completed over 15 years of painstaking research, resulting in a thorough understanding of voice. Their methods for voice training and vocal rehabilitation, Vocal Balance™ and Vocal Restoration™, were born.

Read the Guardian article that inspired me to contact them for singing lessons

LYRICS to the resulting song:

I'd been driving for years

Lost in foreign lands

Searching for answers

Some guiding hands

I'd gone cross country

Even lost the road

I was given directions

By people, far gone themselves

But it was in my darkest hour

That I heard her name

Whispered on the wind

And I was guided to a place

The parking lot was packed

the queue went round the block

But a desperate man won't be denied

I found a window unlocked

I climbed into her chamber

And poured out my heart

Of how I'd lost my voice somewhere

She watched me in the dark

"Your problems obvious

You've forced your tone

Singing should be an effortless thing

Leave well alone"

After an hour together

I felt changes deep inside

And I walked out the door two inches taller

With words to reach the sky

And I could sing sing sing

Such a pure and simple thing

Go within

And let it ring

Yes I could sing