Guitar String Names — and How to Actually Remember Them

The short answer: from thickest to thinnest, the strings are E, A, D, G, B, E. The most popular mnemonic is Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie. And the confusing part — string "1" is the thinnest string, not the thickest.

The names

Two things trip everyone up at the start:

1. There are two E strings. The thick one (low E) and the thin one (high E). Same note name, two octaves apart.
2. Numbering goes thin to thick. String 1 = high E, string 6 = low E. When a chord chart says "mute the 6th string," it means the thick one closest to your face.

Mnemonics that stick

Reading thick → thin (E A D G B E):

• Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie (the classic)
• Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears
• Every Amateur Does Get Better Eventually (the encouraging one)

Or thin → thick (E B G D A E): Easter Bunnies Get Dizzy At Easter.

Pick one, use it for two weeks, and you'll never need it again — the names fade into automatic knowledge fast, especially once you start tuning by ear against a tuner every session.

Why E-A-D-G-B-E and not something logical?

Mostly fourths: E→A, A→D, D→G are each a perfect fourth apart, then G→B is a major third (the oddball), then B→E is a fourth again. That major-third kink exists so common chords are physically playable. The full story is worth knowing — we've got a whole post on why the guitar is tuned EADGBE and why the B string is the one that "breaks" every pattern you learn.

From string names to actual fretboard knowledge

Knowing the open strings is day one. The natural next step is learning where every note lives, starting with the low E and A strings — the full system is in our guide to memorizing the guitar fretboard.