The musical staff for standard guitar music contains the notes of the upper four strings. The first string corresponds to E, the top space within the treble clef staff. Half-step increments correspond to single frets. The next strings correspond to B, the middle line on the staff; G, the second line on the staff; and D, the space immediately below the staff. The bottom two strings are A and E. A is two lines below the staff, and E is the space below the third line below the staff.
According to ACGuitar, time signature tells you how many beats per measure you play and the value of each beat. For example, 4/4 time signature requires you to play 4 beats per measure, and quarter notes count as one beat. 6/8 time would have 6 beats per measure, with eighth notes counting as one beat. 4/4 is the most common time signature in most music. Key signature, written as a series of sharps or flats before the time signature, tells you what notes play as sharps or flats throughout the piece. If you see a flat --- marked as b --- on B and E, play those notes as B flat and E flat through the entire piece, unless you see a natural mark next to the note. A natural mark appears as two upper-case Ls joined to form a square in the middle.
Different notes represent different lengths of a tone in standard guitar music. The most common ones in music are whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes. These names refer to how much of the measure they use. In 4/4 time, whole notes take 4 beats, half notes 2, quarter notes 1, eight notes 1/2, and sixteenth notes 1/4.
Whole notes are written as a single unfilled circle. Half notes add a stem, quarter notes fill the note in, and eight notes are drawn like quarter notes, but with a tail added to the stem. Subsequent notes add more tails.
If you see a dot next to a note, extend it by half its value. For example, a dotted half note plays for 3 beats.
In standard notation, two notes of different pitches connected by a curved line above them should be played as a hammer-on or pull-off. A hammer-on involves playing one fret and pressing a fret higher on the same string without plucking the string. A pull-off involves fretting two notes on a string, playing the string and lifting your finger off the higher fret. Usually, this will involve short notes such as eighth note. Pull-offs pose more of a challenge to play for longer notes; if you encounter one, pluck the string with your fret finger as you lift it from the fret.
You will typically see the letters "p," "i," "m," or "a" above notes in guitar standard notation. These indicate the finger you should use to pick the note: "pulgar" indicates the thumb, used for the E, A and D strings; index for the G string, middle for the B string and "annular" or ring finger for the high E string.