The Major System
The Major Memory System is one of the two most powerful memory systems
currently available. It requires a significant investment of time to
learn and master, however once it is learned it is extremely powerful.
It is the application of mainly this system that forms the basis of
some of the extraordinary, almost magical, memory feats performed by
magicians and memory technicians.
Mind Tools Mnemonic Grades:
Ease of Use
- Difficult
Effectiveness
- Very Effective
Power
- Very Powerful
Learning investment
- Significant
Who should use - People prepared to invest significant time in learning
the system.
How to use
The system works by converting number sequences into nouns, nouns into
images, and linking images into sequences. These sequences can be very
complex and detailed.
The building blocks of the system are the association of the numbers
below with the following consonant sounds:
0 - s, z, soft-c - remember as 'z is first letter of zero'
1 - d, t, th - remember as letters with 1 downstroke
2 - n - remember as having 2 downstrokes
3 - m - has three downstrokes
4 - r - imagine a 4 and an R glued together back-to-back
5 - L - imagine the 5 propped up against a book end (L)
6 - j, sh, soft-ch, dg, soft-g - g is 6 rotated 180 degrees.
7 - k, hard-ch, hard-c, hard-g, ng - imagine K as two 7s rotated and
glued together
8 - f, v - imagine the bottom loop of the 8 as an eFfluent pipe
discharging waste(letter image of F in alphabet system)
9 - p, b - b as 9 rotated 180 degrees.
These associations really must be learned before proceeding.
The system operates on a number of levels, depending on the amount of
time a user is prepared to devote to learning the system. The first
level, the coding of single digit numbers into consonants and small
words, functions almost as a poor relation of the number/rhyme system.
It is at higher levels that the power of the system is unleashed,
however this level must be assimilated first.
The trick with the conversion into words is to use only the consonants
that code information within the word, while using vowels to pad the
consonants out with meaning. By choosing letters for your word in the
preferential order AEIOU you stand a better chance of being able to
reconstruct the image word if you forget it.
If consonants have to be used to make a word, use only those that are
not already used - i.e. h, q, w, x, and y
1. Single number words:
The first level codes single numbers into a short noun made up of the
number consonant sound and some vowels. On a sheet of paper, write the
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numbers 1 to 9, and apply these rules to create your own memory words.
An example is shown below:
1 - toe
2 - neigh
3 - ma
4 - ray
5 - law
6 - jaw
7 - key
8 - fee
9 - pay
These words can be used in association much like the other peg
technique memory words.
2. Double number words:
Similar rules apply to creating a standard word from two numbers. It is
best not to try to use single number word as a root, as this can
confuse the image.
Add to your list of numbers 1 to 9 the numbers 10 to 99, and apply the
rules to create memory words for yourself. A few examples are shown
below:
17
23
36
41
52
64
75
89
98
-
t, ch - tech
n, m - name
m, sh - mesh
r,s - rose
l, n - line
ch, r - chair
k, l - keel
f, p - fop
b, f - beef
3. Triple number words
Just using double number words may be enough to make this a
sufficiently powerful mnemonic for you. Alternatively you may decide to
use triple number words, using the same construction rules as double
number words.
Examples are:
182
304
400
651
801
-
d,
m,
r,
j,
f,
v,
s,
c,
l,
z,
n
r
s
d
d
-
Devon
miser
races
jailed
fazed
Even though words can be constructed from first principles it may be
worth writing them down at this level of complexity, and running
through them many times to strengthen the link in your mind between the
numbers and the associated words. This will enable you to recall the
number word faster.
Applying these images
Once you have devised words and images to link to your numbers, you can
start to apply the technique to remember long numbers, etc. At as
simple level you might decide just to remember a long telephone number.
To do this you might just associate a few images together using the
2
link or story technique. Alternatively, to remember a really long
number, you might associate words made up of the components of these
numbers with stops on a journey (see the journey technique).
Summary
The major memory system works by linking numbers to consonant sound
groups, and then by linking these into words. By using the images these
words create, and linking them together with another memory system,
large amounts of information can be accurately memorised if properly
coded.
Make it HUGE.
See the item out of proportion to its real size.
Make it larger than life, not just an airplane, but a huge airplane.
Make it MOVE.
Have action in your image. Have your item doing something,
using bold, expansive movements. See the plane taking off, lifting
from the
runway, dust flying, wheels lifting, pointing its nose toward the
sun.
Make it MANY.
Don't just visualize one of the items, exaggerate,
see hundreds of airplanes lifting off one after the other.
Make it STRANGE.
If you are linking items, substitute, make one item do what the
other item normally does--have basketballs flying and airplanes
bouncing.
Be creative, be silly, make your images unique and
memorable.
Perhaps the oldest mnemonic device is "METHOD OF PLACE".
This method is said to have first been used around 500 B.C. by the
Greek orators. There are several important steps involved in using
this method.

First, the learner must use a well-known
street, building, room or "layout" where there
are as many distinctive locations as there are
items in the list to be remembered. The list of
these locations is memorized in a particular
order.
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
Next the learner must make up a vivid,
concrete image of each of the items in the list
to be remembered.

Then associate each item in some vivid,
concrete way with the "mental snapshot" of
these distinctive locations in their proper order.
EX: Memorize the five advantages the
North possessed in the Civil War.
(1) Your familiar location will be the infield of a
baseball diamond. Use the pitcher's mound and the four bases as
key reference points.
(2) Mentally place each advantage the North possessed
at one of these five locations.
* more extensive railway system, "home railway
terminal"= home base
* more money in the banks = first base
* a large Navy = second base
* more widely developed industry = third base
* greater number of soldiers = pitcher's mound.
A second mnemonic device is the PEGSYSTEM. In this system,
items that are to be learned are hooked by vivid mental images
onto the "pegs" that have already been learned in a certain order.
This system is especially useful when something is to be learned in
order or in steps. Here is a list of peg words from one to ten.
One is a bun
Two is a shoe.
Three is a tree
Four is a door.
Five is a hive.
Six is sticks.
Seven is heaven.
Eight is a gate.
Nine is a mine.
Ten is a hen.
All the peg words are concrete nouns that can easily
be associated mentally with the items to be learned.
For example, if the fourth word to be learned is
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"chlorophyll", it will be retained better if it is
translated into something like the opening of a
Green door.
A similar system involves visualizing the numbers themselves
as pictures.
1- is a pen.
2- is a swan.
3- is a bird in flight.
4- is a sailboat.
5- is a hook.
6 -is a golf club.
7- is a cliff.
8- is a snow man.
9- is a lollipop.
10- is a bat and ball.
Figure out why each of these numbers looks like the word and you
can easily remember 10 things by associating them with the
picture.
Learning the Major System.
Step 1
Digit-sound equivalents
Digit
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Consonant sounds
z, s, soft-c
t, th, d
n
m
r
l
soft-g, j, sh, ch
k, q, hard-c, hard-g
f, v
p, b
Hint
'z' is the first letter of zero
't' has one downstroke
'n' has two legs (downstrokes)
'm' has three legs (downstrokes)
'r' is the last sound in fouR
'l' or L is the Roman numeral 50
'g' when turned around gives '6'
'k' is made of two 7's back-to-back (7<)
'f' when written in script looks like '8'
'p' when turned around gives '9'
Each digit is represented by one family of consonant sounds. Some sounds are not not used:
'w', 'h', and 'y' (remember as 'why'). Vowels do not carry any meaning, so that they can be
used as 'fillers' when composing words.
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So, what does the word 'dog' stand for? 'd' = 1 and 'hard-g' = 7, so 'dog' is 17. Silent letters do
not count. For example, in 'debt' the 'b' is silent. Only the 'd' and the t' sounds count, so that
'debt' is 11 ('d' = 1 and 't' = 1). In a word like 'though', only the 'th' sound codes a digit. The
other letters are either vowels or silent, so that 'though' is 1.
Some letter combinations are ambiguous. In that case, you have to decide for yourself what
they mean, depending on how the word sounds to you. For examlpe, 'ng' as in 'king' is
phonetically similar to 'n' and can thus be taken to mean 2. For simplicity, we will always
treat it as an 'n' and 'hard-g' combination, so that 'ng' = 27.
Step 2
Examples of words and their number 'codes'
After studying the digit-sound groups, a table of which is reproduced below, take 10-15 min
to verify the digit 'codes' of each word.
0
z
s
1
t
th
soft-c
d
letter
ladder
winner
mummy
barrel
lilly
judge
ocean
machine
witch
cello
genie
kite
quilt
cow
game
food
cough
pen
bean
2
n
3
m
514
514
24
33
945
55
66
62
362
6
65
62
71
751
7
73
81
78
92
92
4
r
5
l
6
soft-g
j
7
k
q
8
f
v
sh
hard-c
ch
hard-g
9
p
b
zoo
scissors
stone
circus
psalm (salm)
king (kin-g)
knife (nife)
accent
examples
of
words
and
their
numeric
meaning
0
0040
012
0470
053
727
28
7021
703950
8
410
21
14
2347
3227
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Step 3
Go to web site and practice.
Step 4
Peg words for the numbers 00 to 100
Take a while (15-30 min) to read through the peg words below. Visualize each one
and check how the number code is derived. After attending to the peg words below,
you are ready to proceed to the online Peg Word Trainer for further training. You do
not have to learn all peg words at once. It is also possible to study only up to number
20 or 50. The trainer allows you to limit the number to any setting between 1 and
111. It will normally be set to 61, which will teach peg words 00-50.
1. head
2. honey
3. ham
4. hair
5. whale
6. jaw
7. oak
8. hoof
9. pie
10. dice
11. tattoo
12. tin
13. thumb
14. tire
15. tail
16. dish
17. duck
18. TV
19. tape
20. nose
21. window
22. onion
23. gnome
24. winner
26. wench
27. neck
28. knife
29. nap
30. mouse
31. meadow
32. moon
33. mom
34. hammer
35. mill
36. match
37. hammock
38. movie
39. mop
40. rose
41. heart
42. horn
43. harem
44. warrior
45. railway
46. ridge
47. rug
48. roof
49. rabbi
51. lady
52. lion
53. lamb
54. lorry
55. lolly
56. lodge
57. lake
58. wolf
59. lobby
60. cheese
61. jet
62. chain
63. gym
64. chair
65. jewel
66. judge
67. sheik
68. shave
69. ship
70. kiss
71. cat
72. gun
73. gum
74. car
76. cage
77. cook
78. coffee
79. cab
80. office
81. photo
82. phone
83. foam
84. fur
85. veil
86. fish
87. fog
88. fife
89. VIP
90. base
91. boot
92. piano
93. bomb
94. bar
95. pillow
96. peach
97. book
98. beef
99. puppy
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25. nail
50. lassoe
75. coal
100.
disease
Numbers starting
with 0
00. sauce
01. suit
02. swine
03. swim
04. sore
05. seal
06. sash
07. ski
08. safe
09. soap
0. saw
Step 5
Go to web site and practice.
http://memory.uva.nl/memimprovement/eng/peg_word_trainer.htm
Step 6.
Apply the system to remembering long lists
Step 7.
Use the system for advanced mental filing
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