Born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Eddie Van Halen is the son of Jan van Halen and Eugenia van Halen (née van Beers). Jan van Halen was a Dutch clarinetist, saxophonist, and pianist, and Eugenia van Halen was an Indo (Eurasian) from Rangkasbitung on the island of Java in Indonesia. The family eventually resettled in Nijmegen.

We came here with approximately $50 and a piano, and we didn’t speak the language. Now, look where we are. If that’s not the American dream, what is?

In February 1962, the Van Halen family moved from the Netherlands to the United States, settling in Pasadena, California. Both Eddie and his older brother, Alex van Halen, are naturalized U.S. citizens. The brothers learned to play the piano as children starting at the age of six. They commuted from Pasadena to San Pedro to study with an elderly piano teacher, Stasys “Stanley” Kalvaitis.

Van Halen revealed in an interview that he has never been able to read music. Instead, he learned from watching and listening. During recitals of Bach or Mozart, he would improvise. From 1964 through 1967, he won first place in the annual piano competition held at Long Beach City College. Afterward, the judges would comment that he had an interesting interpretation of the classical piece. Van Halen’s view was, “What? I thought I was playing it correctly!” However, according to one interview, playing the piano did not prove to be challenging or interesting to him. Consequently, while Alex began playing the guitar, Eddie bought a drum kit and began practicing for hours every day.