The treble clef is the kind of S shaped symbol in the upper staff of 5 lines in piano music. the lines spell “Every Good Boy Does Fine (EGBDF), the Spaces spell FACE. Therefore, a note above the top line would be — G! following F – below the bottom line is — D, before the line E. If there are no sharps (looks kind of like a number sign) or flats (looks kind of like sick “b”), the key is C – meaning the first note of the scale is the note C – The major scale proceeds as follows – whole step (meaning there is a key on the piano between it and the next as in C – D), whole step, half step (no note between as in E to F), whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. this pattern persists in all major key (the ones that don’t sound sad) no matter what note is chosen for the first note.

How to identify keys (which tells you which note is first). If there are sharps beside the clef, take the last one to your right and go up one half step on the lines and spaces – that’s it. For example, if the last sharp to the right is C# – the key is D. If you have flats, the next to last flat is the Key – That is, if you have an Eb and a Bb, the key is Eb – in the case of only one flat – it will be a Bb and the key is F – in both cases it is counting back 4 notes.

In the Bass clef – the lower staff or left hand notes on the piano – the backwards looking sort of “C” character is called the “g” clef because it wraps around the “g” on the bass line where the lines and spaces are one-third different – lines = Good Boys Do Fine Always (GBDA) and spaces = ACEG or All Cars Eat Gas (or at least used to). same rules apply to the notes above and below the lines, and to key signatures.

How to determine Tempo(time) – If no tempo is given it is automatically “standard” time or 4/4 – in all cases whatever those numbers are, the top number indicates the number of beats in a measure (the regular vertical dividing lines in the 5 line staff of music) , and the bottom number means the type of note that gets one beat. — ie 9/8 = 9 beats to the measure, the 1/8th note gets one. etc., 4/2= four beats to the measure, half note gets 1 and so on. At the end of a piece there will be two vertical lines close together, one usually a little thicker than the other, which means “the end” – If there are two dots before that ending, like a colon, it means do that line of music over – then there is usually an alternate ending written just beyond with a number 2 over it somewhere – If there is a symbol that looks like the math symbol for “therefore” – a triangle of dots – it means keep playing the same thing over and over until someone tells you to shut up.

this information, plus the book I suggested in the first place should get you by stuff you should have learned in music class in the third grade.

This is a good site, I have been in music for my whole life and it is a miracle