Successful switch and need some tips! - Experiences

NoodleHands
New member

Reputation: 0
Registered: 09-Oct-2010
Posts: 1

09-Oct-2010 02:21:42#1 Successful switch and need some tips!

Hey ppls,

I switched to Colemak last April and can now type as fast as I did on QWERTY (~80 wpm), but it's a lot more fluent and feels better on Colemak. I'm also a programmer, and have found using Vim under Colemak to be very natural.

When learning I practised on http://hi-games.net/typing-test/ and also on http://keybr.com/, I gained around 10 wpm a week.

However, I'm stuck at 70 - 85 wpm, and have continual trouble with p,g,j,v, and b. (The hardest thing to type ever is "jpg").
So for any +90 wpm typists:
- Do you use the same hand, or alternate hands when using shift or space bar?
- Do you slightly move your hand over to type g,j,v,b? Or do yout stretch your fingers?
- Any specific ergonomic tips?

Thanks, and viva la Colemak.

DreymaR
Member

Reputation: 214
From: Viken, Norway
Registered: 13-Dec-2006
Posts: 5,362

Website

11-Oct-2010 14:07:52#2 Re: Successful switch and need some tips!

I'm not a 90+WPM typist, but:

- for 'jpg' i use alternative fingering, letting the left hand slide in so that the middle finger types the 'p'. This is what the really fast typists do, learning word for word, as far as I've gathered.

- for the 'v' and 'b', might I interest you in the ergonomic ZXCVB shift? In which you use an ISO board, and push the aforementioned keys one step to the left. The symbol key right next to the left Shift key then moves to the old 'B' position. I can really recommend the feeling of this, and it's really easy to learn since there are no fingering changes - all you need to is keep a straight wrist (A Good Thing!) and let the fingers follow a more natural curve to the bottom row.

- I do believe that most fast typists use both Shift keys at least, if that's what you meant.

*** Learn Colemak in 2–5 steps with Tarmak! ***
*** Check out my Big Bag of Keyboard Tricks for Win/Linux/TMK... ***