Debussy was born on August 22, 1862, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris. He was the fifth kid in a family of five.¹⁾

Debussy began piano lessons when he was seven years old. His family wasn't particularly musical: his father had a china business and his mother worked as a seamstress.²⁾

Debussy began his studies at the Paris Conservatoire when he was ten years old. He studied composition with high-flying French artists like as Émile Durand and César Franck for the following eleven years, but after failing to win the premier prix for piano, he gave up his aim of becoming a virtuoso.³⁾