 Besseler studied philosophy (under Martin Heidegger), German language, mathematics and natural science in Freiburg im Breisgau.Subsequently, he studied music (under Hans Gál) and musicology (under Wilibald Gurlitt, Guido Adler and Wilhelm Fischer) in Vienna and Freiburg.In 1923 he obtained a doctoral degree in musicology from the University of Freiburg.