The music doesn't continue past the double bar. Once you set the stage with the staff so you can indicate what note to play, you now have to have a way to tell the person reading the music for how long should the note last. A note has two basic parts and they are the pitch or tone and the length of time that tone exists. The type of note indicates the time value of that note. So if for instance the half note receives two counts and you have a dotted half note, then that note would receive three counts.
Notes can have their stems turned upward or downward.
Notes below the bottom line up to the middle line will usually have their stems turned upward. Notes that are above the top line down to the middle line will usually have their stems turned downward. There is no special significance to the orientation of the stems and is only for the purpose of printing and ease of reading. Rests Rest notes are used to indicate that no notes are to be played for the period of time defined by the particular rest notation. For instance, a quarter rest indicates you should not play anything for a count of one.