Richard Fredricks

I just was so upset when I read a students review of Richard Fredricks. You know anyone can write anything online anytime they choose if is true or not true. I find it interesting that the guy that wrote an awful review for Mr. Fredricks later sent him the following e-​mail. Too bad his awful words still remain on Unilocal.
Hi Richard,
I hope you are fine. It took me almost 1
Year to overcome to write you. I want to apologize to you but i could not get it together in l.a. they were hardly no jobs and being now in Texas makes a big difference financially for us. The living costs are 50 per cent less for a far better
Quality of life. I started my fall semester as a music major. After taught by other Prof. Here at the university i still profit mostly from your technique and your breath support you taught to me.
I want to say sorry but i felt you was not
Listening to my fundamental problems i had back then. In the name of Jesus Christ the master of this universe i am sorry and hope that are fine. Thank you. Florian
Florian

I am not a professional singer, just an amateur. But Richard taught singing to my entire family for a few weeks and brought the fun and joy of singing to the whole family. He got us singing together, on key and sounding pretty good in no time. I highly recommend him!

No teacher or coach has been able to improve my singing like Richard Fredricks. He is a master musician with an enviable career working, as an equal, with the best singers and conductors in the world. Richard has been tireless in helping me prepare for my performances. He is always in my corner. He is encouraging before performances and a helpful & honest judge after an event. Besides being an excellent vocal technician, Richard’s vast experience has been a great resource when dealing with organizations, personalities, and contracts. As a result of my work with Richard Fredricks I am a better and more confident musician and performer.

Californians are lucky that Richard Fredricks did not retire from the Metropolitan Opera to set up a vocal studio at Julliard. He is a brilliant, insightful professional who shared the stage with Beverly Sills, coached Renata Scotto, yet also performed for Richard Rodgers. When the Metropolitan Opera celebrated its centennial by staging Don Giovanni, whom did they cast as Don Giovanni? Richard Fredricks. When Johnny Carson wanted an opera star to serenade his audience of 10 million, whom did he repeatedly call? Richard Fredricks.
Richard’s versatility is extraordinary. As a teacher he is always encouraging and shares a precise technique that will widen your vocal range and give you a clearer, more potent sound. Richard can sing along, demonstrating a flexible support system and conveying the confidence you need to sing crisply and gracefully.
I’ve taken voice lessons from professionals in New York, but none have had the tools to engineer a better sound. In comparison to Richard, others are like The Music Man, employing a mysterious but fraudulent «think system.»
I must note that on this page a malcontent sputters her thoughts, suggesting that taking lessons from Richard is not like learning from Pavarotti or Domingo. Well, try getting a lesson from one of them! Pavarotti stopped giving lessons when they buried his body in 2007, and Placido is almost as difficult to get an appointment with.
Bravo Maestro Fredricks!

Richard is a gem of a teacher. He’s got a warm, no-​nonsense, fun personality and is simply brilliant. He is very patient with his students, pays attention to them, tirelessly demonstrates, showing how their sound can be improved when they are making mistakes. This is incredibly effective for students, instead of just letting them sing trial-​by-​error, they are being guided by a very knowledgeable professional, who’s had a serious career! During the lesson, you are actually encouraged to ask questions, to demystify the process instead of shrouding it in veil and put it atop an altar. His teaching on support and breadth is great. He has extensive knowledge about the art of singing, the repertoire, and is able to verbalize it in a way that people can understand. He’s very good with giving constructive directions, and if one direction isn’t clicking with you, he will try to say it in a different way until it works.
He is generous with his time, which all serious singers can appreciate, because to him, the effect of the teaching matters. He will get you somewhere in a lesson, as opposed to just looking at his clock and say, time to end! His set-​up is very intelligent, you will be recorded in the lesson, and you will hear yourself as someone hearing you, outside your own ears. I can’t stress how valuable that is especially during a lesson. He has taught me how to listen critically as a musician, which is immensely useful.
I have had a couple of teachers before Richard and studied for years. I am a soprano but had trouble with my high notes. My past teachers have somewhat avoided the issue or not addressing them in a productive manner. Under Richard’s guidance, my high notes are beginning to blossom. People are noticing a difference in my singing. If you are seriously looking to build a technique that can give you real confidence, Richard is the one to go to.

I have a BM and MM in vocal performance and have studied with many excellent teachers over the course of my career. An otolaryngologist recommended Richard Fredrick’s to me and I’m so grateful. Richard understands vocal production. He’s made a tremendous difference to my singing. Although his fee may be higher than some LA teachers, relative to NYC or others of his caliber, he is en par. He’s generous with his time as one lesson could be two hours. His understanding of style and performance conventions for the traditional operatic and theater rep is world class. His approach is definitely unconventional and can be frustrating. But I appreciate that he’s conditioning muscles and muscle memory like biofeedback. He will not let you do it wrong or reinforce improper technique. if you want to be great, he’s your teacher. If you want to hear yourself sing through songs and get empty compliments, then there are many teachers for you! My ENT did warn me that he’s eccentric. I think the brilliant ones are!

Former New City Opera and Met Baritone, charges $ 200 for a lesson either in person or online via skype. This fee is too high compared to what you don’t get like a good pianist, showcase opportunities, connections, studio setting, or practice facility.
Mr. Fredricks teaches in his tiny and filthy apartment (no studio!) in West L.A. He does not have a Masters, Ph. d, Bachelors, not even an Associates Degree in Music. He can’t help you understand Music Theory, Sight Reading/​Singing, or Music Business. He doesn’t understand the current Music Industry how to get work, or audition. No job connections or friends who even hire his students for choral roles. Yet he expects students to pay him $ 200 per class. He’s proud of these rates. He should only charge $ 50 per lesson lets be real. He can’t even play piano very good and it’s old, ragedy, and out of tune. Is he for real? So sad.
R.F. was not a major star like Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti. He never was signed on major classcial labels such as Decca, Deutsche Grammaphon, Sony or EMI. There is only 2 entire opera works La Traviata and Roberto Devereux.
Unfortunately he does not have any connections in the music industry. A gifted voice student would hope to find some work after paying these high fees. I see this as a problem in Los Angeles where we have tons of acting and music teachers who are so fast to take your money but cannot provide the service that one can have a career in this field even when the student has the talent needed.
Sadly enough he does not even organize showcases for his most talented students or help them to get an audition in an opera house, theater, for an agent or manager. Most likely because he does not have the connections anymore.
Mr. Fredricks teaches his own vocal technique. Many things about his technique are good; however, a vocal coach is like a medical doctor who cannot apply the same medicine for each patient. The entire technique is too mechnical forced and lacks natural smoothness and easiness which produces the beautiful belcanto sound we want. His teaching method is like the man too extreme focused on one direction there is no space for any other. His technique covers the tone too much and he never talks about the importance of head resonance and overtones which is important for all voices especially the higher ones. The correct application of head resonance guarantees a long lasting singing voice.
UCLA Music Instructors think he’s crazy so don’t tell them b/​c they will laugh and say «he’s coo coo.» USC fired him. Who knows why. If you trained with him you can’t even mention it.
He cannot play piano good and does not offer a pianist, you have to bring own piano player. The man does not understand pedagogy how could he since he didn’t get a Music Degree. He lacks good communication skills and he yells at singers. Yelling at people does not help to find a inner relaxation which the student needs to produce a free and open sound. It makes it even worst when he pushes his limited baritone range up to sing along which the high voices such as Soprano and Tenor. How can a higher voice learn from a Baritone to sing their high notes who does not have those. He also does not provice proper warm ups. The student just came in to the lesson and must sing out of his full voice without even had the change to be warmed up suffienctly.
Especially the higher voice need to find the connection to the head voice meachanism to reach easy and clear the top ranges. Starting with the darker vowels such as «o» «a» is not a good advise when we have to find first the head resonance and the mask placement of the voice by singing bright vowels such as «e» or «u» vowels.
To sum it up, I am very sceptical regarding all those private acting and music teachers in Los Angeles and eleswhere who mostly take your money but cannot provide the entire musical training such as Music theory, piano, knowledge in the business of music (most important beside the skills as a performer), performing experience etc. one needs to make it in the music field; therefore, my suggestion is it to attend one of those local music programs on a community college or university where a student can get financial aid, permantl use of a practice room (which this private teacher never provide!!) because repetion is more important than the right voice teacher after the student has a clou how to sing. Least but not last a student obtains a music degree (bachelor, master, PHD) where he or she can also find a stable career in teaches music on a college or university full time, part time or later on after the promising career has ended.
Stay away from Mr. Fredricks he proclaimes that only his teaching is the only true way. His credentials are questionable b/​c most of the old guys who trained with him are dead and some still alive but they had big careers long before they met Richard Fredricks. In closing, he has a weird attitude but I’m sure he’ll say that he’s right.