Listen

Description

Grandpa Bill's Grunts & Groans,Grandpa Bill: You see, when you're starting from scratch, especially without knowing how to read traditional music notation, the sheer amount of information can be overwhelming. Chords, scales, string names, fret numbers—it's a lot! So, I immediately thought of my mnemonics, my trusty PAO, and of course, our beloved Memory Palaces.I started with a simple, tangible object: a baseball bat. Yes, a baseball bat! I used it to represent the neck of a guitar. Then, I grabbed some Post-it Notes and cut them into strips, making 15 "frets" along the bat. For the strings, I used more Post-it Notes, labeling them with a classic mnemonic: E-very G-ood B-oy D-oes F-ine (or F-udge, if you prefer a sweeter ending!). This physical representation, even just with a bat, immediately made the abstract concept of a guitar more concrete.Building Your Guitar Memory PalaceGrandpa Bill: Now, the real magic happens when we bring in the Memory Palace. For those new to the concept, a Memory Palace is simply a familiar location—your home, your garden, a favorite walking path—where you systematically place information you want to remember.Here's how I'm expanding on my "baseball bat guitar" idea to create a robust Memory Palace for learning rock guitarists and their signature instruments, integrating PAO (Person, Action, Object) associations.First, identify your Memory Palace. For me, it's my living room. Each "fret" on my imaginary guitar, from the open strings to the 15th fret, becomes a station in my Memory Palace.Let's take the open strings as our first station. This is where we'll place our legendary guitarists.E (low E string): I'm picturing Eric Clapton (Person) majestically strumming (Action) his iconic Gibson ES-335 (Object). I can see him sitting right there on my favorite armchair, filling the room with the bluesy sound of "Layla."A string: For the A string, I see the legendary Angus Young (Person) from AC/DC, wildly duck-walking (Action) across my rug with his Gibson SG (Object), plugged into an imaginary Marshall stack in the corner. You can almost feel the energy!D string: Here comes David Gilmour (Person) of Pink Floyd, calmly bending a note (Action) on his Fender Stratocaster (Object) near the fireplace, creating those ethereal, soaring sounds.G string: I envision Jimmy Page (Person) from Led Zeppelin, with his double-necked Gibson EDS-1275 (Object), dramatically playing a bow (Action) across the strings in the center of the room.B string: For the B string, I'm placing B.B. King (Person) gently cradling (Action) his beloved Lucille (Object), his black Gibson ES-335, on the coffee table, letting out a soulful vibrato.E (high E string): And finally, for the high E, I'm seeing Eddie Van Halen (Person) exuberantly tapping (Action) on his custom-designed Frankenstrat (Object) near the window, a whirlwind of sound.https://www.buzzsprout.com/2222759/episodes/17324485