Memorize all the notes on the treble and bass clefs. Visit a musical instrument shop and ask the clerk to help you find a basic music theory book. All theory books will begin by teaching you the notes of the treble and bass clefs. Speak each note aloud as you point to it on the music staff. Many books teach you to memorize the notes through acronyms like FACE, which represent all the space notes on the treble clef.
Learn how to identify musical intervals; these are the distances between notes. These help a musician understand how to move from one note to the next. Look in your music theory book for the section on intervals. All intervals use full or half steps to measure distances between notes. A major fifth, for example, uses seven half-steps. Run through the exercises in the book daily until you feel completely comfortable identifying the most common musical intervals.
Memorize basic chord structures. Chords are made up of multiple musical intervals stacked on top of one another. The most common chord uses the 1-3-5 structure. Other common structures include 1-3-5-7, 1-4-5, and 2-6. A great example of the 1-3-5 structure is the C major chord, which uses the notes C, E and G. C and E are separated by a musical third, just like E and G. Hence, the 1-3-5 structure stacks two musical thirds on top of each other. Ask a friend with extensive musical theory knowledge to explain the more complex chord structures. Look through your music theory book each day and go over the most common chord types.