In the language of music, there are 2 "clefs" or dialects. Also known as F clef, bass clef is generally used for the lower octaves, below middle C on a piano. A piece written in bass clef means that music played by instruments such as the string bass and cello typically use bass clef. Alto, baritone, and bass singers also typically read music in bass clef.
The other "dialect" of music reading is treble clef. Typically used in music for violins, violas, flutes, and trumpets, treble clef is for higher octaves. Soprano, alto, and tenor singers also typically read in treble clef.
Many beginning music readers will use a mnemonic device, or memorization technique, to remember the order and placement of notes. A very popular mnemonic device for memorizing the bass clef is "Good Boys Do Fine Always" for the notes located on the lines, meaning the notes G B D F A . For notes located on the spaces on bass clef, a popular memorization technique is "All Cows Eat Grass," since the notes located on the spaces are A C E G.
A popular Mnemonic for remembering the notes on the lines in the treble clef is "Every Good Boy Does Fine," for the notes E G B D F. For the notes that correspond to the spaces, FACE stands for the notes F A C & E.
Rote learning is also known as memorization. The main way to learn to read music by memorization is simply by repeating the piece of music over and over. It is helpful when learning by rote if you have a piano to use to play the piece over and over in bits, then once you have learned that bit, move on to the next.
Time signatures let you know how many beats or notes per measure there are. Most music is played on a 4/4 beat, meaning 4 whole notes per measure. Notes can be measured by how long they are held, and are always even numbers. The first number specifies how many notes per measure there are, and the second number tells how many beats that note is held. The higher the number, the shorter the beat. There are whole notes, denoted by 1, half notes, denoted by 2, quarter notes, denoted by 4, so on.
A whole note typically looks like an O, with no staff attached. A half note looks like a whole note, but with a staff attached. A quarter note is a completely filled in O, with a staff attached. Eighth notes are completely filled in O's, with staffs, and connected with each other.
Just as there are whole notes, half notes, sixteenth notes, and so on, there are equivalent rests. A whole rest looks like a filled in rectangle, attached to the line. That means there is a rest of one beat before playing the next note. A quarter rest is simply a squiggle line on the staff, and means there is a quarter beat rest before playing the next note. Rests can go all the way to one-sixteenth of a beat.
The way a piece of music sounds and is played can also be affected by whether it is played in a sharp key, or a flat key. Imagine being at a piano. If the piece is sharp, it will be played one half step up, or note up; if it is flat, it will be played one half step or note down. Usually that means a black key.