 As a trumpeter, he became a member of the „Technische Tanz-Band“(Technical Dance Band, TTB), the dance orchestra of the University of Technology, as an extracurricular activity.In 1947 he passed the entrance exam in piano at what was known at the time as the Vienna Academy of Music and is known today as the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he became a student of Bruno Seidlhofer.Subsequently, Graf terminated his study of architecture in order to devote himself entirely to music.