What does a drum lesson cost?

Single 30-minute lessons start at $50. 60-minute packages run up to $180. Multi-lesson packages come with a discount. The first lesson is always free for new students, so trying it out costs nothing.

How long is a typical drum lesson?

Lessons run 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 minutes. Most students settle into a 30 or 60 minute weekly schedule. The first lesson is 30 minutes and free.

How does scheduling and cancellation work?

Lessons can be weekly, biweekly, or as needed. Cancellations work best with 24 hours notice so the time slot can be filled. Emergency cancellations are handled case by case.

How do I book my first drum lesson?

Go to rudyfeinauer.com/book-online, pick a date and time, and I will confirm. The first lesson is free for new students, so there is no payment step. If you prefer, call 914-262-9406.

How young can a student start drum lessons?

Most students start between ages 7 and 10. I have also taught younger kids and adult beginners in their 60s and 70s. The right age depends on attention span and interest, not the birthday.

Do you teach adult beginners?

Yes. Adult beginners in their 60s and 70s have taken lessons with me and progressed faster than they expected. Adult learners bring focus and life experience that helps. The first lesson is free.

Where is Rudy Feinauer based?

My studio is in Ardsley, NY (Westchester County). In person lessons happen at the studio. Virtual lessons reach students across the United States and worldwide via Zoom or FaceTime.

What equipment do I need to start drum lessons?

For the very first lessons, a practice pad and a pair of sticks is enough. Many students start that way and add a full kit later. If you already have a kit, that is even better.

Are virtual drum lessons as effective as in person?

After five years and many students, the short answer is yes when the setup is right: a good camera angle, reliable internet, and a student who is ready to learn. Some students actually progress faster because they are on their own kit in their own room.

What software do I need for virtual drum lessons?

Zoom or FaceTime. Most people already have one or both. No special software, no separate purchases. A laptop, tablet, or phone is enough.

What are Rudy Feinauer's credentials?

I am a graduate of the New England Conservatory, Jazz Percussion, Class of 1990, on full scholarship. I have been teaching drums privately for over 35 years and was a NYSSMA adjudicator for several years.

What styles of drumming does Rudy teach?

Jazz, rock, Latin, and contemporary drumming. I draw from over 35 years performing and teaching across genres. Students who want to specialize in one style get more time on that style. Students who want variety get a broader curriculum.

What if drum lessons are not a fit?

The first lesson is free, so it costs nothing to find out. If after that first lesson you decide drumming is not for you, or that we are not the right teacher-student match, no hard feelings. You keep what you learned and you are not on the hook for anything.

Where in Westchester does Rudy teach in person?

The studio is in Ardsley, NY. Students travel in from Hastings-on-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Yonkers, Bronxville, and other nearby Westchester towns. Virtual lessons are also available if traveling is not convenient.

Online vs In-Person Drum Lessons: An NEC Grad's Honest Take

Rudy Feinauer
Jun 27
5 min read

Updated: Jul 8

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-person is meaningfully better. Here's the honest breakdown of which student fits which side, and what to ask before deciding.

What I'm Basing This On

Credentials matter for this answer. I'm a New England Conservatory graduate (Class of 1990, jazz percussion, full scholarship) with over 35 years of teaching experience. My students have gone on to programs at Berklee, the Manhattan School of Music, and the New England Conservatory. I've taught NYSSMA prep students and watched plenty of them earn high scores after only virtual instruction. Same teacher, same conservatory training, both delivery modes. The comparison below is from inside that experience, not from a marketing brochure.

Where Online Wins

The student plays on their own kit. This is the single biggest advantage. In-person students walk into a studio, sit at a kit they don't own, with a setup they didn't choose. The first 10 minutes of the lesson is just adjustment. Online students sit at their own kit, the same one they practiced on all week. No transition time. They sound like themselves immediately.
Zero travel time. A 30-minute online lesson is 30 minutes. A 30-minute in-person lesson, for most families in Westchester County, is 30 minutes of teaching plus 30 to 60 minutes of driving. Over a school year, that's 30 to 50 hours of car time avoided. That's a college course worth of practice instead.
Practice continuity. After an online lesson, the student is already at the kit, with the new exercise fresh in their head, ready to practice for 15 more minutes. In-person students get home an hour later, do homework, eat dinner, and the lesson is half-forgotten by the time they sit down to practice.
Teachers from anywhere. If you live in rural Westchester, upstate New York, or anywhere without a local drum specialist, online lets you pick the teacher whose style matches your student instead of settling for whoever's nearby. My students join from across the United States and worldwide.
Recording lessons is trivial. Zoom and FaceTime can record. The student can rewatch the explanation later that night. In-person, they'd need to remember from one weekly session. The replay advantage compounds fast.

Where In-Person Wins

Hands-on hand-position correction. For new students under age 8 or any beginner with a habit-forming grip problem, sometimes a teacher needs to physically adjust the stick in their hand. Over video I can verbally walk them through it 95 percent of the time. The remaining 5 percent is faster in person.
Acoustic kit at full volume. In a studio you can play loud. At home, kids often have to play softer or use mesh heads to keep peace with neighbors. For advanced students working on stage dynamics, in-person studio time is hard to replicate.
Very young kids (under 7). Attention spans under age 7 are short enough that a physical adult next to the kit helps keep focus. Online works for ages 5 and 6, but it requires a parent next to the student. In-person doesn't.
Ensemble play. Eventually a drummer needs to play with other live musicians in the same room. That can't be replicated online for technical latency reasons. Most students don't need this in their first one to two years, but advanced students do.

The Camera Setup Question (Where Most Online Lessons Fail)

Bad camera angle is the single most common reason online lessons disappoint families. The teacher needs to see three things: the student's hands and sticks, the drum surface or pad, and ideally the student's face for engagement. Most students set their laptop on a music stand facing them and the teacher can only see their face. That doesn't work.

The fix takes 10 minutes the first lesson. Phone or tablet propped at a 45-degree angle behind the student looking over their shoulder at the kit. If a second device is available, that one shows the face. Both join the same Zoom call. Cost: zero. Difficulty: trivial. Most parents have a spare phone or iPad lying around.

Once that setup is in place, the online lesson loses 90 percent of its visual disadvantage. The remaining 10 percent gets covered by good verbal instruction. After 12 weeks, neither teacher nor student notices a difference.

What Doesn't Actually Matter

Internet speed. Almost any home connection above 10 Mbps works. The audio matters more than video quality.
Headphones vs speakers on the student side. Both work. Headphones reduce some bleed from the kit into the mic but it's marginal.
Whether the kit is acoustic, electronic, or mesh-head. Doesn't change the lesson quality online. The teacher's job is the same regardless of what the student is hitting.
Whether the student is in Westchester or 3,000 miles away. Zero difference once the camera is set up.

Should You Pick Hybrid?

Hybrid is the right answer for many families. Start in person for the first 6 to 12 weeks while the fundamentals get set, then move to mostly virtual once the student is confident. Some families come in for one in-person session per month and do the other three online. The trade-off between travel time and full hands-on time becomes a clear choice once the student has the basics down.

What to Ask Before Picking

Three questions answer this honestly for most families:

1. How old is the student? Under 7, lean in-person. 7 and up, online works fine.
2. How far is the studio? Over 20 minutes one way each lesson, the travel cost makes online clearly better unless there's a specific reason for in-person.
3. Are you preparing for a specific outcome (NYSSMA, audition, band)? For NYSSMA prep and audition prep, both modes work equally well. For a kid who just wants to bash and have fun, in-person is more playful and probably worth it if it's convenient.

Try Both

The first lesson is free. If you can't decide, do the first one in-person at the Ardsley, NY studio. If geography or schedule makes that hard, do it online over Zoom or FaceTime. By the end you'll know which mode fits your student, and we can talk through the answer.

Book your free first lesson at rudyfeinauer.com/book-online.

For more, see what I've learned after 5 years of teaching virtually, what 35 years of in-person teaching has shown me, or the full FAQ. For credentials, see Press and Recognition.