Music is an audio phenomenon that people have shared with each other for a very long time. During the course of hundreds of years, a system of icons has developed so that we can share or remember music by writing it down. Musical notation, then, is the visual representation of music. The system is imperfect and in constant flux ("contemporary" music utilizes symbols which are not presented here). It is nonetheless a system of notation which is used to represent a large body of literature and so should be understood fully.
In addition to notational symbols, some important musical terminology must be defined. When we speak to each other about musical ideas, a few fundamental terms must be understood to avoid confusion.
For example, a language has been developed so that we can talk about specific pitches. Most people have come in contact with a piano and, so, pitches can be understood as they relate to the piano keyboard. Study the following diagram. Notice how the pitches are labeled on the keyboard. This is one way of giving a specific label to a specific pitch. ("c1" is also called "middle c" because it resides in the approximate center of the piano keyboard).
POINT YOUR MOUSE AT "MIDDLE C".
The pitches on the above keyboard go HIGHER as you travel to the RIGHT on the keyboard and LOWER as you travel to the LEFT. Each of the pitches on the keyboard (or any instrument) is notated on the printed page in a unique manner. "Middle c", for example, would look like this when written on the staff with a treble clef:
