Learning the names of the guitar strings in standard tuning is easy when you have something to tie the letters to.

This is exactly why people started making up memory aids: to remember the string names (EADGBE).

If you're looking for how to remember the strings on a guitar, here are a couple of mnemonic acronyms you can use. If you know other ones, than leave it as a comment at the bottom of the post please!

  • Eat All Day Get Big Easy
  • Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie
  • Elvis Always Dug Good Banana Eating
  • Every Apple Does Good Being Eaten
  • Every Amp Deserves Guitars/Basses Everyday
  • Eat Apples Daily Grow Big Ears
  • Eric And Dave's Guitars Beat Everyone
  • Every Acid Dealer Gets Busted Eventually
  • Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears
  • Eat A Dog, Get Big Ears
  • Even Average Dogs Get Bones Eventually
  • Every Apple Does Go Bad Eventually
  • Eat All Dead Gophers Before Easter

If you want to learn the names of the notes across the fretboard as well, check out our video guitar lesson on guitar notes, and our written material on guitar notes and string relationships.

And remember to leave your own little memory aids as well 🙂

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95 Comments

  1. Watching “The Untold Stories of Your Favorite Musician, Hired Gun” on YouTube, Liberty Devitto was talking at “Little Kids Rock” in New York, and I could see printed on the wall behind him, from bottom to top, “Easter – Bunny – Gets – Depressed – ? – ?” (Couldn’t see the A & E.) And I thought, pretty good but what was the A & E? So I added “And – Eats.” Some people do.

  2. It seems a bit backwards with the suggested mnemonic acronyms, considering that the strings go from 1-6 and the phrase should thus start with E1 rather than E6…

  3. Every
    Atom
    Decomposed
    Great
    Bears
    Energy
    Just made it, I always liked physics lol! Best regards and Happy New Year everyone!!!

    1. my favourite one, for its logic, is Every Amateur Does Get Better Eventually. But I think Elephants And Donkeys Got Big Ears would appeal to the young ones

  4. Bottom Up Guitar string names

    Ears
    Big
    Get
    Drink,
    And
    Eat

    To teach young beginners, you can divide it up 3 and 3. It has one syllable words and it’s silly.

  5. I’m here because I was looking for a child friendly mnemonic. For adults, I find ” the BG’s went to the DA’s office” works. Because you have E’s on the top and bottom, and then the BG’s go to the DA’s office is an easy one to remember. But, little kids don’t know who the BeeGee’s are, nor what a DA”s office is.

  6. Every August Dad’s Gas Barbecue Explodes
    Eloquent Aardvark Delights Greatly in British Elocution
    Enter Arnie, Dennis Goes, Brings Errol
    Errol Ate Dorothy’s Gargantuan Brioche Emporium
    Etherial Attraction Does Get Brilliant Euphoria
    Ernie Argued Down Graham’s Broken Explanation
    Every Animal Does Get Big Euphoria
    End Another Day, Go Begin Evening
    Eruptions After Dark, Gives Bright Evening

  7. @Gaston I use nmeminics to teach advanced theory aswell. Like the order of modes: Ionian, Dorian, Phrydgian, Lydian, Myxilidian, Aolian, Locrian. (Forgive my spelling) The nmemonic I like to use for modes is: I Don’t PHight Little Midgets Any Longer

    Enjoy

  8. I’ve always used Eddie Ate Dynamite Good By Eddie, but my guitar teacher is requiring us to create a mnemonic acronym in the correct string order (1,2,3,4,5,6 – E,B,G,D,A,E).
    This is what I came up with:
    Eddie Begins Going Down Avenue E
    or
    Eddie Began Going Down Avenue E

  9. Some of these are pretty funny. I’ve always used:

    Easter Bunnies Get Drunk At Easter

    Although it’s not something I would teach a little kid, it has always worked for me.

  10. I like to use… 6th to 1st string:
    every/ ass /does /good/bad/evil…
    or from 1st to 6th…
    easter/bunny/gets/drunk/at/easter
    hope it helps ….rock on my friends!

  11. Good concept! This might be useful to beginner students that are just starting out… I wonder if Mnemonic Acronyms could be useful for more advanced concepts as well?

    1. It’s spelled breakfast

      Everyone Applauds During Garrett’s Backflip Eventually

      Everyone Applauds During Garbanzo Beans Equality

  12. This is for learning the strings from the 6th string to the 1st string if it’s easier for you.

    Easter Bunnies Go Down At Easter

    Works for me! =)

  13. I’m a fantasy nerd, so I go with:

    Every
    Ancient
    Dragon
    Gets
    Bigger
    Every (year)

    It’s not perfect, but it works for me.

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