Clapisson's family was originally from Lyon where his grandfather had been a maker of wind instruments. Clapisson was born in Naples while his father Antoine was working there as a professor at the Naples Conservatory and as the principal horn-player in the orchestra of the Teatro San Carlo. The family returned to France after the Neapolitan War in 1815 and eventually settled in Bordeaux. Clapisson showed a precocious talent as a violinist. As a boy he toured the south of France giving violin concerts under the tutelage of Pierre-Louis Hus-Desforges. In 1830 he entered the Paris Conservatory to study violin under François Habeneck and harmony under Anton Reicha. He also obtained a position as first violinist in the orchestra of the Théâtre-Italien and later as second violinist in the Paris Opera orchestra.