Look at any piece of piano music. Study the top staff---the treble staff---of each line. The notes that fall on the lines of the staff are, from bottom to top, E, G, B, D and F. One mnemonic for this is "Every Good Boy Does Fine."
Identify the notes that fall on the spaces as follows: F, A, C and E--the word FACE. For notes above or below the staff, simply follow alphabetical order. The musical alphabet goes from A up to G, and then repeats.
Look at the bottom line---the bass staff---of the piano music. The lines of the bass staff have the notes G, B, D, F and A, from the bottom to the top. The mnemonic for these notes is "Good Boys Do Fine Always."
Name the notes on the spaces of the bass staff with this mnemonic: "All Cows Eat Grass"; A, C, E and G.
Study the shape and size of each note. A solid note with a stem is a quarter note, taking one beat in common time. A hollow note with a stem is a half note, taking two beats in common time.
Find a larger hollow note with no stem. That is a whole note, taking four beats, or a whole measure, in common time. An eighth note, half the duration of a quarter note, is a solid note with a flagged stem.
Add a dot to any note to make it 150% of its value. A dotted quarter note equals one and a half beats. A dotted half note is three full beats.