The Major System provides a great way to memorise numbers. It is used to create peg words in a different way than in lesson 1. For those who haven't read lesson 1, peg words are words used to replace numbers so that they can be used to act as a conceptual hook. Onto these hooks, we can hang, or attach items of a list. With some practise, this approach will make memorising lists a piece of cake. If you are confused at this point, do not despair, just read on. Note that Lesson 1 is a handy introduction to this lesson, and it is recommended reading.

The Major System basically uses the sounds of the alphabet for each digit. When you substitute the digits with the sounds you can then create a peg word. For example, by substituting the digit 1 with a 'd', and the digit 7 with a 'k', you would have a 'd' and a 'k' to represent the number 17. We don't stop here. Realising that there are only 10 different digits that we are interested in, i.e. 0 - 9, and that there are 26 letters in the alphabet, the creators of the Major System left some spare letters for us to use when we create peg words! The spare letters are all the vowels 'a','e','i','o','u', and 'h','w','y'. With this in mind you could make up the word "duck", by selecting some of the spare characters to insert before, between, or after the substitute letter(s) for the digits '1' and '7'. Your peg word for number 17 becomes the word "duck". Note that 'ck' makes the same sound as a 'k' when it is spoken.

Below is a breakdown of the numbers and their corresponding sounds.

0 = S or Z, soft C (e.g. Ceiling)

1 = T or D

2 = N

3 = M

4 = R

5 = L

6 = J, SH, CH, soft G (e.g. Germany) DG (e.g. Nudge)

7 = K, hard C (e.g. Cat), hard G (e.g. Goat), hard CH (e.g. Chorus) QU (e.g. Grotesque)

8 = V or F

9 = B or P

Using the information above, try and make 100 peg words i.e. from 0 - 99. Once you engrave these peg words into your head, you will be armed with a powerful memorisation tool! For example, as a peg word for the number 1 you can have; Tea, Toe, Hat, At. Number 2 can be; Noah, In, and One. Use the above table as a guide to help you start off. Play around with different combinations of numbers and see if you can make up words from them. Below is a table of 100 peg words we have come up with. Check how these words correspond with the above numbers. You are welcome to use the table below or make up your own 100 peg words. We can begin with the peg word SAW for 0...

1 = HAT	21 = WAND	41 = RAT	61 = CHAT	81 = FAT
2 = HEN	22 = NUN	42 = ARNIE	62 = CHAIN	82 = VAN
3 = HAM	23 = GNOME	43 = ARM	63 = CHIME	83 = FAME
4 = HAIR	24 = NERO	44 = ROAR	64 = CHAIR	84 = FUR
5 = HAIL	25 = NAIL	45 = RAIL	65 = JELLY	85 = VEAL
6 = HASH	26 = NUDGE	46 = RASH	66 = CHA-CHA	86 = FISH
7 = HACK	27 = NIKE	47 = ROCK	67 = CHOC	87 = FOG
8 = HOOF	28 = KNIFE	48 = REEF	68 = CHEF	88 = FIFE
9 = HOOP	29 = NAPPY	49 = RUBY	69 = SHIP	89 = FAB
10 = DOZE	30 = MOUSE	50 = LOOSE	70 = AGASSI	90 = BASS
11 = DOT	31 = MAD	51 = WALLET	71 = CAT	91 = BAT
12 = DINE	32 = MONEY	52 = ALIEN	72 = GUN	92 = PEN
13 = DOME	33 = MA'AM	53 = LIMO	73 = COMB	93 = BAM
14 = DOOR	34 = HOMER	54 = LAWYER	74 = CAR	94 = PEAR
15 = DALE	35 = MAIL	55 = LILY	75 = GLUE	95 = PALE
16 = DJ	36 = MJ	56 = LEECH	76 = COUCH	96 = PEACH
17 = DUCK	37 = MACCAS	57 = LEG	77 = CAKE	97 = BIKE
18 = DAFFY	38 = MAFIA	58 = LOVE	78 = COFFEE	98 = BEEF
19 = TAPE	39 = MAP	59 = ELBOW	79 = CAB	99 = BABE
20 = NOSE	40 = ROSE	60 = CHEESE	80 = VASE	100 = DAISIES

So how would you memorise the number 714277 ?. To remember this you could pair up the digits to get; 71 42 77. Once you have that all you have to do is remember what your peg word for those numbers were and make up a creative little story. For example: 71 = CAT, 42 = ARNIE (Which is short for Arnold Schwarzenegger for me), and 77 = CAKE. So the story can be something like: The CAT jumps into ARNIE's birthday CAKE as he is about to blow the candles creating a huge mess. This story is much more memorable than a simple 714277 isnt it? We have now associated images and incorporated our senses to make a number a memorable thing!

Once you have the idea of pairing up the numbers you can also try making up peg words 3 digits at a time. If we apply the same example as above we'll have something like:

714 277 (Broken into 3 digits each). 714 could = GATOR, 214 = ENTER. The AlliGATOR sprung out of the lake and started to fly towards the do not ENTER sign eating and ripping the rust tasting sign into shreds. Since when did alligator's fly? In your mind, anything can fly. Use your imagination to make really wild and wacky stories. It doesn't even have to make sense as long as you link the peg words together and have an understanding of the story. Use of humour and each of your senses makes the memorisation even stronger and help to recall quicker.

The method just mentioned works well when trying to memorise short numbers, lets say 10-20 digit numbers. After that people commonly have a problem trying to remember the order in which they memorised the pairs of numbers. One way to beat this problem is to use a journey (see Lesson 2). Since your journey is ordered, you can simply associate each pair or triplet of digits to a stop in your journey. For example, using the number 873874012293, and the journey from Lesson 2, we would begin by pairing up the numbers. Using the mentioned number this yields 87, 38, 74, 01, 22, and 93.

Hence, the journey begins in the living room where all the furniture is made out of FOG! People try to sit on the couches but helplessly fall onto the ground instead! So, they change their minds and walk over to the kitchen and are greeted my friendly men from the MAFIA wearing white aprons over their classy black suits while they cook up delicious meals for the people with sore backsides. After eating, the MAFIA men run into a bedroom where they have parked their CAR, they get in and drive away. Imagine a CAR in a bedroom, parked next to a messy bed... Finish off the journey and you will find that long digits are actually hard to forget! Techniques such as this one have been used in World Memory Championships and outstanding results have been obtained. People have memorised hundreds, even thousands of digits in a matter of minutes using this technique.

Exercise: Take some time to memorise and familiarise yourself with the above peg words or make up your own. You can start by memorising 10 at a time at your own pace. You can also test yourself using the memory gym. Make a note of your peg words on paper and test yourself. For starters I recommend going through the numbers at a slow rate so you have enough time to recall the peg word.