Claude Debussy was born on August 22, 1862 in the heart of the Ile-de-France. He received a "very elementary and incomplete education, which was interrupted at an early age by his entering the Conservatiore." Later in his life he learned to read better because of his associating with those in the literary world. In his childhood he, like most French children, was surrounded by the playful tunes and melodies that inspired some of his work. In his early childhood he was exposed to limited amounts of music other than military songs heard in the local town square. Later in his youth his father, a music lover, took him to local theaters to hear opera’s. It was said that Debussy had wanted to become a painter. Little did he know that some of his greatest works would be influenced by other such mediums like art and literature.

Debussy had his first piano lesson at the age of nine. He had a love of music that far surpassed his peers, not to speak of a talent that surpassed even his teachers. He was known for a his musical sensibility, a love of unusual chords, complex rhythms, and uncommon usage of subtle harmonies. These traits did not leave him as he grew. Debussy questioned and toyed with the techniques he was taught and which shook the traditional ways of the Conservatory. By the summer of 1876, Debussy was the first place winner of his examinations.

Debussy’s abilities were sometimes a point of conflict for him; something he loved. Debussy was an avid arguer, one technique he didn’t learn in his studies. He didn’t want to waste his time practicing techniques and theories. He wanted to spend his time studying the masters like Bach, Chopin, and Mozart. Debussy annoyed and intruiged his teacher by improving before playing a piece of the masters. He used quirky tunes and harmonies which were subtly brilliant, and wouldn’t be fully appreciated until many years further into his career. Debussy graduated from the Paris Conservatory after 11 years of study. On his second try he finally passed the Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata L’Enfant Prodigue.