 Burnett was first exposed to music at an early age through the piano by his mother (Violet Lorraine Burnett), and later studied vocal music through the youth choir program at his church under the direction of Nevada Rosbia.Burnett took to music intuitively and his introduction to saxophone and clarinet began through the instrumental music program at school.James R. Fuchs was his primary music teacher who also exposed him to some of the local and internationally recognized professional saxophone players like Charles Molina and Gary Foster who visited the school periodically during the early 1970s.