Determine which clef you will be reading. The treble clef, or G-clef, looks a bit like an "S" in shape. (It can be seen in the photo next to the introduction.) This clef represents notes on the higher end of the musical scale. These notes are those to the right of a player at a piano. The other type of clef is a bass clef. This clef looks much like a backward "C" with two dots to the right of it. This clef represents the notes on the lower end of the musical scale or the left of a piano player.
Use a pencil to write in the letter names of the notes for your clef. For a treble clef, the names of the lines are E, G, B, D and F, from bottom to top. The phrase "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge" can be used to remember the names of the lines on a treble clef. The spaces between the lines are F, A, C and E from bottom to top, or "FACE." On the bass clef, the lines are G, B, D, F and A when read from bottom to top, or "Good Boys Deserve Fudge Always." The spaces are A, C, E and G from bottom to top, or "All Cows Eat Grass."
Identify the notes on the lines and spaces in your piece of sheet music. Go through your piece of music and write the names of the notes below each one.
Identify the notes that fall either above or below your scale on the piece of music. This is done by continuing the use of A, B, C, D, E, F and G either above or below, as the written music indicates. Remember that each line or space holds its own note name, and the musical alphabet runs from A through G.
Internalize these note names. After the note names are internalized, you will find that reading music is much simpler. In fact, most players do not recognize notes by their note name but by the fingering (as for a trumpet or clarinet), key (piano) or position (trombone) required to play them.