Learn the pitches that are written on the staff lines in the treble clef. The treble clef is the upper set of five lines on a piece of sheet music. The notes are E, G, B, D, and F from bottom to top.
Learn the pitches that are written in the spaces of the treble clef. They are F, A, C and E from bottom to top.
Learn to read the notes written just below and above the treble clef staff. The note that is just under the first line is D. Just below D is middle C, which is written on its own small line, called a "ledger line." Middle C receives the title "middle" because it is located near the center of a piano's keyboard. It is the white key that lies to the left of a set of two black keys in the middle of a piano. Middle C is always written with one ledger line through the note, just under the treble clef or just above the bass clef. The note that sits on top of the top line is G. Just above G is A, which is on its own ledger line. Other notes that are below middle C or above high A are written either in between or on ledger lines. These notes follow the alphabetical A through G pattern.
Learn the pitches that are on the lines of the bass clef (the lower set of five staff lines). The pitches are G, B, D, F and A in ascending order.
Learn the pitches that are in the spaces of the bass clef. They are A, C, E and G in ascending order.
Learn the pitches that are just above or below the bass clef staff. These pitches are written using ledger lines, the same way that pitches are written above or below the treble clef. For instance, the note just below the bottom line in the bass clef is F. The note below that, which has its own ledger line is E.
Look for sharps and flats. These are the black keys. They are indicated by a "#" symbol for a sharp and a "b" symbol for a flat. For example, a G note with a "#" next to it means that you should play a G-sharp (written G#). G# is the black key to the right of a G note. A Gb would be the black key to the left of G.
Look for bar lines and a time signature. Bar lines are vertical lines that divide the music into sets of beats. These are called measures. The time signature is the pair of numbers at the beginning of a piece of music that tell you how many beats will be in each measure. The time signature looks like a fraction.
Read a black note with a stem on it as a quarter note. Quarter notes usually receive one beat.
Read a black note with a flag attached or two black notes connected by a bar as eighth notes. These notes usually receive half of a beat.
Read a note that has a stem but is white in the middle as a half note. Half notes usually receive two beats.
Read a note that has no stem and is white in the middle as a whole note. Whole notes usually receive four beats.