Fed up with bizarre acronyms for learning your guitar string order?
I mean…
“Eat All Day Get Big Easy” is okay, but…
You have to memorize a meaningless phrase in order for it to work!
Personally, I find this problem with each and every acronym out there. As a result, acronyms are amongst the weakest of all memory techniques.
There’s a much better way to learn all of your guitar strings by name quickly. On this page, I’ll show you how.
Why should you believe that my approach is better than every other guitar string mnemonic out there?
Good question.
Not only am I an internationally respected memory expert, but in the video below, you’ll see me playing a fairly complex composition on guitar:
I play bass too. I had to memorize the names of my strings and much more to be able to play music like this:
Anyhow, I just thought you might like some proof that a real human is teaching you what I believe to be the best mnemonic device for guitar strings. And I thought you’d like to know that I’m someone who can actually play with a decent amount of skill.
So if you’re ready to learn an easy way to remember the strings on a guitar, let’s get started.
How to Remember Guitar Strings: The Ultimate Guitar String Mnemonic
The absolute easiest way to remember the guitar strings involves using two simple systems:
- The pegword method
- The guitar itself as a Memory Palace
I know that it might feel onerous to learn a different skill before learning the names of your guitar strings.
Rest assured, taking a step back will be worth it. And the pegword method is very simple. That’s because it’s a highly visual memory technique that gives you a sticky image for each letter of the alphabet.
Here’s what I mean:
Rather than creating an acronym or sentence for the guitar strings, start with your fattest string and call it Ernie.
In my case, I use Ernie from Sesame Street. But you could use Einstein or another other person you find interesting and who is already in your memory for this string.
The point is to link a clear and obvious association based on the letter “E” which is the name of the note this string plays in standard tuning.
You can place the association mentally either on the tuning peg, the string itself, or both.
If you change the tuning, such as drop-D, then Ernie can easily become Dracula using this method.
The reason we’re using characters like these is that they’re familiar and dynamic. We can imagine them interacting.
So once you have your E-string mnemonic decided, simply assign each string a different character. Mine are from lowest to highest:
- Ernie
- Al Pacino
- Dracula
- Grover
- Bob (from what about Bob)
- Ernie (as a baby)
How to Memorize The Strings In Order
To remember the strings in the exact order they are arranged in standard tuning, you can use either the story method, linking or a combination of both.
Again, this approach is superior to acronyms because it harnesses the power of active recall. That’s because using music mnemonics like the ones you’re discovering now involve personalization and variety. Any time you get your life and your autobiographical memory involved in a learning task, you increase your speed of retention.
Also, following a story based on links makes the order inherently memorable. That’s because the details follow a logical order that stimulates recall.
For example:
- E-string Ernie throws an elephant at Al Pacino
- Al Pacino assassinates the attacker and bites Dracula
- Dracula shoots his fangs at Grover
- Grover runs over Bob
- Bob breaks baby-Ernie’s toys
This approach is beautiful because you can extend it to memorizing the entire fretboard as well.
Meaning is the Key To A Successful Guitar String Mnemonic
If there’s one important takeaway here, it is that guitar string acronyms are not very good mnemonic devices. Certainly not compared to using pop culture characters that have been in your mind for a long time.
All memory techniques that are worth their salt rely on the principle of association based on preexisting mental imagery.
And like a good song lyric, using a story is one of the most memorable things you can do for both bass and guitar.
If you need more help with making rapid associations, get my FREE Memory Improvement Kit:
It will help you apply these techniques to your guitar and to anything else you want to learn faster.
So what do you say?
Are you ready to drop the torturous guitar string acronym method and make it much simpler?
Give it a try and I’ll bet you find using celebrities that are already in your memory have you mastering your guitar strings in minutes, rather than hours.
The best part?
The same mnemonic principle you’ve just learned will help you remember all kinds of other things that come up in life. I’ll always have a soft spot for music in my heart, but why stop here when there are so many other wonderful skills and types of knowledge to master through the same deliberate practice musicians use?
Play on!
