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Rudy Feinauer teaches drums and also performs. This page covers the band he plays with, the venues he has appeared at over more than 30 years, and the press that has covered him. If you are considering lessons, an actively performing teacher is a signal worth checking. Everything below is public and verifiable. Upcoming shows Confirmed dates are listed on the Live Shows page, which updates automatically as shows are added. About Mudsole Mudsole is a New Orleans style Dixielan

Picking a drum teacher feels like a gamble. Most parents end up choosing whoever shows up first in a Google search or whoever a friend mentioned at a soccer game. That works sometimes. Other times it ends with a $600 set of drums collecting dust in a basement after three months of lessons that never connected. There are 7 questions that separate teachers who actually teach from teachers who just collect lesson fees. Ask all 7 before you book. Any teacher who can't answer them

Most articles about online vs in-person drum lessons are written by people who only do one. Either a Drumeo or Melodics marketer telling you online is just as good as a real teacher, or an old-school in-person teacher saying nothing replaces being in the room. I have a different angle: I run both, and have for five years, with hundreds of students. Short answer: for 80 percent of students, online lessons are just as effective as in-person, sometimes better. For 20 percent, in

First, I am a drum teacher, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice. What I can tell you, after 35 years of teaching hundreds of students, is what I see in lessons with kids whose parents have told me they have ADHD. The pattern is clear enough to write down. Short version: drums can be one of the best matches for kids with ADHD, because the instrument rewards short bursts of intense focus, physical movement, and immediate feedback. The trick is in how the lesson is stru

This is the biggest objection I hear from parents: "We don't have room for a drum set, and we'd drive the neighbors crazy." The honest answer is that you don't need a full kit to start drum lessons, and most professional drummers I know spent their first year practicing on a $30 pad in a closet. Here's what 35 years of teaching has shown me about home practice without a kit: a practice pad, a pair of sticks, and a metronome will take a student further in the first 12 months t

This is the question I get more than any other. A parent reaches out, often after their five-year-old has been banging on pots for two months straight, and asks: is my kid old enough for real drum lessons? Short answer: most students do best starting between ages 7 and 10, but the right age depends on attention span and interest, not the birthday on the calendar. I've successfully taught kids as young as 5 and adult beginners in their 60s and 70s. Here's the honest framework

If you're a parent in Westchester, Rockland, or anywhere in New York State, and your child plays drums in their school band, NYSSMA is on the calendar. The festival happens every spring. The scoring is on paper, but the stakes feel personal. A high score opens doors to NYSSMA All-State, and even a solid passing score builds the kind of confidence that follows a student into auditions later. I sat on the scoring side of NYSSMA for several years as an adjudicator. I'm also a Ne

Taught by Rudy Feinauer, a New England Conservatory graduate (Class of 1990) with over 35 years of teaching experience. Students have gone on to programs at Berklee College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and the New England Conservatory. The first lesson is free. Book at rudyfeinauer.com/schedule-lesson to claim a time. My lessons with Rudy have been amazing: patient, encouraging, and tailored to my goals. I have improved my timing and fills a ton. Highly recommend

I have been helping students prepare for auditions for 30 years. NYSSMA evaluations, college auditions, youth orchestra auditions, county and state jazz band tryouts, school band auditions. I have coached drummers through all of them. And after three decades of doing this, I have come to believe that the preparation is more valuable than whatever audition the student is preparing for. Here is what I mean. What is NYSSMA, anyway? For parents and students who have not run into

When parents and adult students ask me if virtual drum lessons are as good as in person lessons, I tell them the truth. It depends on the student. But after teaching virtually for five years and working with students from London to Los Angeles, I've changed my mind about what's possible over Zoom or FaceTime. It works. Really well, actually. Here's what I've learned. Virtual lessons aren't perfect, let's be honest Teaching virtually does have real challenges. Not being in the

Teaching drums for more than 35 years has shown me that great drum lessons depend on understanding how each student learns. By combining visual, auditory, and tactile methods, I help students build technique with purpose, not just complete assignments. Whether in Westchester or learning online, every lesson is designed to strengthen skills, improve control, and support real musical growth.