His first serious study came in 1954 at the Tallinn Music Middle School, but less than a year later he temporarily abandoned it to fulfill military service, playing oboe and percussion in the army band. By his early teenage years, Pärt was writing his own compositions. Pärt's musical education began at the age of seven when he began attending music school in Rakvere.
He began to experiment with the top and bottom notes of the family's piano as the middle register was damaged. Pärt was born in Paide, Järva County, Estonia, and was raised by his mother and stepfather in Rakvere in northern Estonia.
