Identify the treble or bass clef staff. The treble clef or G clef (pictured above) indicates that the note Middle C is located one line below the bottom line of the staff. The bass or F clef indicates that the Middle C note is one line above the top line of the staff.
Determine the scale of the staff. If there are no sharp ("#") or flat ("b") markings, the scale is C major. For each "#" symbol, move one 5th note from C (seven half steps). For each "b" symbol, move one 4th note down from C (five half steps). The scale is in that note's major scale.
Starting at the Middle C note, for the treble clef, the space above it represents the next note in the staff scale. The line above that space represents the note after that. Each space or line above indicates the next note in the scale. For the bass clef, start at the Middle C and move down. Each space or line below the Middle C line is one note lower in the scale.
If a note has a "#" symbol next to it, the note is a half step higher than the note would normally indicate. If a note has a "b" symbol next to it, it is a half step lower than normal. For the rest of the bar, that symbol does not need to be used, but a natural symbol (a diamond with extended edges) needs to be used to return to the original pitch.
Multiple notes written on top of one another indicate that all the pictured notes are to be played simultaneously. "#" and "b" symbols only apply to the note it is next to, not all the notes in the dyad or chord.