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Music can be compared to mathematics, because both are subject to rules that govern its use. For those who are interested in the complete study of music from a theoretical point of view, I strongly suggest that you study the information seen here, which is presented as a base for the study of the subjects in this site. Consider that a good book on musical theory and harmony is quite thick, but is something that is essential for the complete learning of the subject. The harmony lessons will always have examples and exercises that can be found in the various pages of this site.
We begin with the analysis of sound. This is the main form of music that reaches the listeners ears, and is made up of the following factors: the note and the rhythm, which are added to the various options for the expression of the notes (dynamics, color, tone, etc.).

Clearly you should at least know the names of the seven natural notes:
C    D   E   F    G    A   B.
These can be read on the stave, which is five lines and four spaces where the symbols of the notes are written. Usually this sequence of notes is defined as the major scale. The sequence must finish with the starting note one octave above. The term octave indicates the number of notes that separate one note from its higher or lower relative. Lets look at the stave of the major scale of C:

The seven natural notes are alternated by five altered notes. The alteration of a note is identified by the graphic symbols sharp (#) and flat (b), which increase or decrease the height a half-step.
The distance that separates one note from another is called the interval. The minimum distance between two neighboring notes is a half-step (or semi-tone), while the maximum distance is a whole step (or tone). Looking at the keyboard of a piano, he can easily see the progression of the sharps and flats. This progression creates the chromatic scale: ascending (progression of the sharps) and descending (progression of the flats).

Ascending chromatic scale (progression of the sharps):

Descending chromatic scale (progression of the flats):

By rule, when ascending you alter a note with the sharp, but when descending you alter with the flat. For convienience however, many times both are used in either direction. One altered note could therefore have two different names but have the same sound: basically the C# and Db are the same note, as well as D# and Eb, F# and Gb, G# and Ab, A# and Bb. These two notes are called homophonic sounds (or inharmonic notes). The double sharp (## or x) and the double flat (bb) raise the intonation by two half-steps. In specific cases, and also for convenience in writing, it's possible to find the sharp on the E and B notes or the flat on the C and F.

The musical key in which you read the guitar is the violin key. Between this and the indication of time there can be various alterations that identify particular scales, which basically alter the notes that they are combined to for the entire duration of the song, provided the natural symbol isn't found, which cancels the alteration. The alterations follow some very precise rules. When one note is altered, it remains altered until the end of that measure and if, within the measure, it comes after an altered note (or notes) of the same height, these undergo the alteration of the first note. Alterations can however be suspended by the use of the natural. This is always found at the end of the measure.

Tempo and rhythm

A melodic line or harmonic progression must be built by combining the rhythmic division with the notes, which regulates its behavior. This last term indicates the succession of the musical events in time. To understand the relationship between the tempo of the notes, we first need to know the values, explained in the following table.

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