What do all of those symbols mean? Part 1

Music notation can look intimidating to many people.  To the uninitiated, it appears to be a cross between code and a foreign language.  In a way, it's both of these things.

The noteheads are the black dots.  They are placed on the staff (the five stacked and spaced lines).  Each line and space are given pitch denotions.  For example, the lowest line in treble clef is called the E line and the lowest space is called F. 

The symbols to the far left of a line of music are called clefs.  They tell the musician what range of the pitch spectrum the music will be in.  The bass clef, for example, will mostly be below middle C on the piano.  Low to very low stuff.  Treble clef is for notes in the higher range.  There is also a C, or moveable, clef that can be positioned at different places on the staff.  Wherever the pointer of the moveable clef is pointed to is where "C" is, and the other note names are repositioned in relation to C.

The clefs themselves are kind of neat.  The Treble clef started out as a loopy-looking G (it's still referred to as the G clef).  Over time, it evolved to what it is today, but if you look closely the bottom loop swirls around the G line (remember that each line and space refers to a note name/pitch).

The Bass clef is sometimes referred to as the F clef.  If you use your imagination, and connect the two dots to the c-shape, it kind of takes on the shape of an F.  The two dots are above and below the F line in bass clef.