\documentclass[12pt]{beamer}

\usepackage{pgfpages}

% These slides also contain speaker notes. You can print just the slides,
% just the notes, or both, depending on the setting below. Comment out the want
% you want.

%\setbeameroption{hide notes} % Only slides
%\setbeameroption{show only notes} % Only notes
\setbeameroption{show notes on second screen=right} % Both

% To give a presentation with the Skim reader (http://skim-app.sourceforge.net) on OSX so
% that you see the notes on your laptop and the slides on the projector, do the following:
% 
% 1. Generate just the presentation (hide notes) and save to slides.pdf
% 2. Generate onlt the notes (show only nodes) and save to notes.pdf
% 3. With Skim open both slides.pdf and notes.pdf
% 4. Click on slides.pdf to bring it to front.
% 5. In Skim, under "View -> Presentation Option -> Synhcronized Noted Document"
%    select notes.pdf.
% 6. Now as you move around in slides.pdf the notes.pdf file will follow you.
% 7. Arrange windows so that notes.pdf is in full screen mode on your laptop
%    and slides.pdf is in presentation mode on the projector.

% Give a slight yellow tint to the notes page
\setbeamertemplate{note page}{\pagecolor{yellow!5}\insertnote}\usepackage{palatino}

\title{How to make Beamer slides with notes}
\author{Andrej Bauer\\University of Ljubljana}
\date{\small Planet Earth}

\begin{document}

\begin{frame}
  \titlepage

  \note[item]{Thank the audience for being awake.}
\end{frame}

\begin{frame}

  \begin{itemize}
  \item Here are
  \item some very boring bullets
  \item about nothing.
  \end{itemize}
  
  \note[item]{Note that this slide is boring.}

  \note[item]{Observe that there are no actual bullets here.}

  \note[item]{Future work: add another bullet.}
\end{frame}


\end{document}