Story highlights Van Halen donated 75 guitars from his personal collection to public schools

"My whole life has been music. I could not imagine anything else," he says

(CNN) Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Eddie Van Halen credits music with keeping him out of trouble -- and he asks an important question: "Could you imagine a world without music?"

"It's a must," Van Halen told CNN's John Vause during an interview Tuesday. "It has to be taught."

In an era when schools are forced to cut budgets, it's often non-essential programs like music that gets the axe. A study compiled by the NAMM foundation found that kids who play instruments get better grades, have higher IQs and lower their chances of drug and alcohol abuse later in life.

Van Halen learned to play piano when he was six, formed his first band with his brother, Alex, in the 4th grade and went on to become the eighth greatest guitarist of all-time, according to Rolling Stone magazine.

"My whole life has been music," he told Vause. "I could not imagine anything else."

Read More