Look at a piece of piano music and locate the treble and bass clefs. The treble clef appears on the top. The bass clef is below it. You will play the notes on the treble clef with your right hand and the notes on the bass clef with your left.
Identify the corresponding notes for each line and space on the treble clef. The bottommost line is E. Progressing upward, the subsequent lines are G, B, D and F. Many students are taught to think "every good boy deserves favor" to help them remember this progression. The spaces, beginning at the bottom, are F, A, C and E, which spells out "FACE."
Identify the notes on the bass clef. The bottommost line on this clef is G, followed by B, D, F and A as you work upward. "Great big ducks fly away" is a phrase to help with remembering this. The spaces on the bass clef begin with A at the bottom, followed by C, E and G. Think "all cows eat grass" to remember this progression.
Notice any sharp or flat notes in the music. A sharp note has a small symbol that looks like a number sign before it. This note is a half step higher than the note without the symbol. A flat is preceded by a symbol that looks like a small b and is a half step lower. Sharps and flats are the black keys on the piano.
Determine the time signature for the piece. This is written at the beginning of the staff, just after the treble clef or bass clef symbol. The top number corresponds with the number of notes in each bar of music. The bottom number determines how long each note will be. For example, a piece in 4/4 time has four notes per bar, with each note lasting one beat. A piece in 3/4 time has only three notes per bar, but each note still lasts one beat.
Identify the length of each note. The quarter note is the most standard note. This is a small black circle with a single line protruding up or down from the note. It lasts one beat. A black circle that is not filled in and does not have a line is a whole note. This lasts four beats. A half note looks like a quarter note but is not filled in and has two beats.
Notes with a tail on the stem are shorter than quarter notes. One tail makes it an eighth note, half the length of a quarter note. Two tails makes a sixteenth note, a quarter of the length of a quarter note.
Note the rests in the piece. These mark places where nothing is played. A whole rest is a small box resting below the center line on the staff. A half rest is a box on top of the center line. A quarter rest looks like a wavy line. An eighth rest is a diagonal line with one tail, while a sixteenth rest has two tails.
Identify any dots placed beside notes or rests. A dot increases the length of the note or rest by half. A half note lasts two beats, but a half note with a dot beside it will last three beats.