Tools & Tips For Learning A New Keyboard Layout (Or How To Type Faster!)

[@autumnfire5165]

Learning colemak drove me absolutely insane until I got to around 30 wpm. The feeling of going from 120 to 9wpm and fighting decades of muscle memory felt horrible but MAN was it worth it.

[@BenVallack]

Yeah those first big changes are really hard for sure. Not to be under estimated! Next, switch to ISRT :) that will be faster though.

[@tuananhdo1870]

@@BenVallack Why not mtgap?

[@riffsontwowheels]

I had to go back to the STD moonlander layout because the guy who designed the one I was using added some odd quirks that I was hitting by mistake and then having trouble getting out of - it is interesting that you can do so much with less keys - you must have to hold the one key vs tapping it to give you symbols and so on

[@JulianGoddard]

I find with practice switching back and forth in order to maintain skill in both colemak-dh and qwerty that it becomes much smaller of an issue. After a while your brain is able to switch back and forth much more quickly than the several hours that it takes to switch back after first learning the new layout

[@BenVallack]

Yeah I am going back to QWERTY on my phone now and seem to manage ok.

[@mathewblanc9936]

Yeah, I switched to dvorak 8ish years ago and now I don't even have to think about it then I sit down at a computer with a qwerty layout. I'm definitely not as fast on qwerty, but there's no mental processing involved if I do need to type on one. You can see a similar effect in SmarterEveryDay's video about the 'backwards' bicycle. Initially he struggled to learn to ride the bike, but once it clicked he was then unable to ride a normal bike. With practice though he can now switch back and forth with no issues.

[@BenVallack]

@@sdrawkcabmiay I tried it as a way to try and help memorise the new layout - I think it helped to some extent but I'm back to Qwerty on watch and phone now - mainly used with swiping.

[@Kelinesh]

I relate to this when I consider how I automatically switch my brain based on the controller I use, where X-Box and Nintendo face buttons are reversed, but I never have to think about it.

[@soypablobernardo]

This is the calmest, to the point, and comprehensive video I have found while researching how to improve my touch typing by learning a new keyboard layout.

[@SebastiaanAndeweg]

My biggest mistake with Colemak was actually to completely switch to it on all keyboards, I find. I now use it (with some mods for Dutch) on my columnar keyboards, but keep Qwerty around on the built-in MacBook staggered keyboard and the old keyboard I had. It works fine: my hands feel the keys on a different place and just remember Qwerty or Colemak (including ALL my very bad Qwerty habbits I am not going to fix anymore). By using Qwerty on the side, I actually have an out when work is on fire, while doing more relaxed work on Colemak. The first time around I just had to quit Colemak because I was not fast enough, but with this duo setup the second time around I could make the switch just fine, and now I am around my normal typing speed again on both. As for Vim... I did not change any bindings and even moved the arrow keys on the navigation layer to the new places of HJKL. My brain just adapted, despite their weird placements.

[@coolbrotherf127]

I found that switching to a different layout also with a different physical layout helped me not confuse the muscle memory, after I built a dactyl manuform, I learned how to type on it with only Colmak DH and still kept qwerty in my phone and any other standard staggered keyboards I might use for things like gaming. I might have learned a bit slower compared to just using the new stuff, but it also made sure I didn't get too rusty with my QWERTY skill.

[@eldelacajita]

I think it's a bit like how a guitarist can learn to play a banjo or a ukulele without forgetting how to play the guitar. The "layout" is different, but the instrument itself feels different too, and that helps to bring up the correct muscle memory.

[@JulianGoddard]

It made me so happy when you said colemak-dh at the start of the video. It sometimes feels like I'm alone in this layout

[@BenVallack]

I have actually switched to ISRT now though heh

[@NuclearSpinach]

I'm continually impressed by the classy and sophisticated lighting, music, and editing in these videos. The accent probably helps complete the picture, since I'm American. 😂

[@BenVallack]

Thanks! You can stay!

[@benlu]

Oooh ngrams is cool! Yeah I use qwerty when I switch back to my laptop, it takes a bit of practice to mentally switch, but it's nice to be able to swap layouts

[@tuananhdo1870]

you mean engram?

[@molohov3875]

Thanks for your insights and tips for learning new keyboard layouts. I have followed almost all of your suggestions since you started down your keyboard journey: namely, purchasing a Moonlander and switching to Colemak-DH! I'm almost 2 weeks into the new layout and slowly trying to inch my way back to my 140WPM QWERTY speeds. I hit around 80WPM on Monkeytype yesterday, so I'm very pleased with the progress! One tip I'd like to share with regards to Monkeytype is that you should also set your language to English 1/5/10/25K etc to access more words, otherwise you'll only get to practice the most common words all the time! You mentioned something very interesting about excess finger movement causing errors. I think that is exactly why my sessions with Colemak can sometimes be very error prone, as with QWERTY one almost needs to constantly change their home row positioning as they are typing, since common bigrams/trigrams can literally span the entirety of one hand. Now that I am aware of this, it doesn't sound hard to fix, just need to keep practicing!! Cheers!

[@riffsontwowheels]

I downloaded Colemak but it had some oddties that would trip me up which the user had customized like adding all caps somewhere and i could not for the life of me get out of it

[@riffsontwowheels]

one of the guys at ZSA suggested going back to standard and then adding customized blank keys myself vs how someone else had done

[@cindella204]

Definitely will be checking out these sites! I’ve gotta stick with QWERTY due to public computer use, but I have moved to a Moonlander recently (and did it while working 😅) so split + ortholinear is still a bit of a challenge for me.

[@the_adamtaylor]

I'm here for this exact reason lol

[@jw_023]

If you have a moonlander why do you have to stick with QWERTY?

[@gorebrush]

@@jw_023 Good question, I am awaiting a similar keyboard, and tempted to dive straight into Colemak on that...

[@jw_023]

@@gorebrush Since that comment, I’ve successfully switched over from qwerty to colemak dh and wouldn’t have it any other way! Just be sure to change some of the modifier keys and layers to specifically work with your workflow. Those are an absolute lifesaver. I don’t even have to take my hands off the keyboard if I don’t want to thanks to that mouse mode!

[@valala2987]

I never heard about bigrams before, I need to try that! Personally, I like to use keybr for partial word training and full word training. I love keybr for the partial word training because it keeps focusing on your weakest letter. What I usually do is set the desired speed to my next goal and then go into the partial training (don't forget to turn on punctuation and upper case letters) until I can comfortably meet the target speed with all of the letters. After that you just rinse and repeat. In order to have some fun and get that whole word/natural language practice in, I copy short stories and books into keybr and just copy that. I think copying other people's work is a really fun way to get some practice in.

[@awesomedavid2012]

I've recently switched from Dvorak to Engram. On both, I find I keep tripping up on the vowels. And I totally agree about how good the rolls feel!

[@benjaminreid]

You inspired me to move to Colemak DH and I'm getting there slowly (2 weeks in). I can see the benefits of using a non-staggered keyboard though to minimise movement.

[@leerv.]

The location of R and S in Colemak does indeed take a while to become second nature. QWERTY has ingrained us against it; but in my opinion the change is definitely worth it, that RST trigram is so satisfying :)

[@BenVallack]

I'm still on the fence about if it's actually worth it! I'm finding ISRT a bit frustrating at speed now!

[@BarryLester]

my 2 cents, for anyone having problem making headway in learning colemak dh, try using monkeytype's random mode with a random letter generator. for instance, if you are learning stne, a random letter generator like thewordfinder could generate letter sequences like sness sst tnn nssst tnn etse snnn ent sns. other tools could also generate real words. I am using this because keybr does not offer colemak dh layout.

[@bandthingy3885]

thank you so much for n gram i've been looking for a type program like that for a year!

[@BenVallack]

Yeah it’s cool isn’t it!

[@zer0nix]

This is GENIUS! Thank you for making this video! I had no idea these tools existed and the logic underpinning them is sound!

[@giri404]

This is the video i have been waiting for a while. Great job in explaining all the details and tips. thanks a lot ben ;)

[@DaleKingProfile]

I cannot figure out why S and R are arranged this way in the Colemak layout. It makes so much more sense to reverse them. It would keep S where it is and R just to the left of T just like in QWERTY. That change is the biggest learning hurdle to Colemak

[@leerv.]

It's because of common n-gram patterns .... rst..... st..... ar..... set up your own version of Colemak where you switch the two keys and try typing 'lost' 'last' 'first' 'worst' 'best' 'car' 'cars' 'fast' and a few words like that and you should see what I mean. Especially 'first' and 'worst'. If you switch 'r' and 's', they require a very uncomfortable dance from your left hand. To avoid that you would have to move either 'r' or 's' off the home row or on the other hand. keyboard layouts are all about compromise, none of them are perfect. I'm actually in the process of learning Canary (matrix) now, although TBF it has the same exact locations for 'r' and 's' as Colemak.

[@Kosaro1234]

I haven't had any difficulties switching between qwerty and another layout. I still use qwerty on my laptop and use an alternative layout on my desktop. I do use a dactyl manuform, which is ergonomically quite different from a traditional keyboard and this may contribute to separating the two layouts in my mind and make switching easier.

[@BenVallack]

Yeah that’s awesome, people certianly do manage it but it must be mentally pretty taxing while you’re learning the new layout!

[@zarkonesmall]

About taking holiday for learning new layout: if it is not suitable for you, evening trainings worked great for me. It just takes longer, i guess. So i was using hhkb querty non touch typing at work and each evening and/or morning was getting used to blind typing, colemak, ortholinear and split on freshly built crkbd.

[@BenVallack]

That's awesome, so you managed to keep good at both?

[@yep_2431]

Thanks for doing the trouble shooting for me. Great vid

[@Drunken_Hamster]

I can't imagine making the keycaps that small. I'm on QWERTY standard stagger and I already don't homerow my finger placement, much less do it with FOUR fingers on each hand. It just feels too cramped horizontally to me. On top of that, I mostly type with my pointer and middle, only occasionally throwing in my ring finger, and only ever using my pinky for modifier keys like shift and backspace. Of course, I recently learned that the left-hand dominance is a QWERTY thing, so that's not as important to mention. My main two things with keyboards ATM is that I feel like I should *A.* do "all" of it at once (change layout both physically and input-wise), and *B.* If I do it, I need something that basically treats the pinkies as if they've been amputated. Something that's like 40/40/20 or 35/35/30 at the most for pointer/middle/ring usage (maybe 35/35/20/10 for pinky, or 40/30/20/10), with a focus on the top two rows and leaves the shortcut keys where they are on QWERTY for convenience. There's also *C.* right now, which is a lack of money, though I'd be willing to mod one of my existing keyboards if there were a way.

[@haukurlaukur]

This helped me learning QGLMWY! Thank you so much for making this video.

[@mbarton98]

Thanks for the resources. I used two other typing sites and was getting frustrated with my lack of progress. I use qwerty on the ios devices when using the virtual keyboard or logging in/booting up on other computers. Switching between layouts is not too bad for me, since I always had to look at the keyboard for qwerty with my hunt and peck method and colemak is where I forced myself to touch type without looking.

[@ennis3728]

Hey Ben, love your video style and content. Your video bought me into the ergo mech keyboard rebbit hole. Can you share your setup with vim for the new keyboard layout? Thanks

[@sakekasi]

Hyped to use these tools to get better at typing in qwerty 😆😆😆

[@awelotta]

I learned Semimak-JQ. Because it was advertised as minimizing finger travel distance. I only use it on Monkeytype, i.e. for fun, because I created the layout with Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator and when I set it up, it's kinda broken. Well, specifically, I have an AHK script that lets me use LAlt+I/J/K/L as arrow keys, and broken withe layout is kinda broken with that. Learning two is fine. But Semimak-JQ isn't exactly muscle memory for me; it's difficult for me to think while typing. But I can get like 80 wpm on MT..

[@riffsontwowheels]

I think I will have a qwerty split keyboard for when I HAVE TO type something quickly and then have another split one with colemak for drilling and learning

[@JDHogg]

Thanks for sharing all of these ideas. I wonder what you think about moving directly from a conventional keyboard to something like the Ferris Sweep. Do you have any tips for learning layers without labels?

[@clarencelaboranti4835]

And then here I am, thinking about how to get a way to switch to an ES language specific Coleman DH variant (Ñ and acute accent/tilde are absolutely essential) _and_ attempting to learn Japanese ひらがな (Hiragana) layout. My brain is going to melt.

[@AdamHillikerLikesRobots]

Cheers - this was the video I was waiting for. I also mix up sr, as well as ei. I also will frequently transpose a right hand movement with a left hand from time to time, that's a fun error. I think the training sites you're suggesting along with the brilliant trick to delete an entire word rather than a portion when correcting is huge. Side note: I'm starting to get into the 36 key miryoku layout - is this what you use? It's a great design. I'm learning it on my moonlander and on my kyria with silenced choc switches...I still can't decide if I prefer mx or chocs.

[@jamdiversified9698]

How's your speed with colemak now? Have you found the S & R keys feel ok now? After coming across your channel a few weeks ago I've changed to colemak dh and 3D printed my own 36 key gergoplex style board. These two changes combined are amazing. Even though it's "missing" the extra dedicated keys, I find it so much easier to find them on another layer without stretching or looking. Adding punctuation and numbers to monkeytype is great for practising this. Your channel is awesome, thank you for improving my life!

[@BenVallack]

You’re welcome! Spoiler alert though, after making those videos I actually changed to the ISRT layout. It‘s actually really easy to learn after Colmak DH, feels a bit like a mod. More info here: notgate.github.io/layout/ It puts S back on the ring finger too.

[@jamdiversified9698]

@@BenVallack Interesting, sounds like it's very much in the realms of diminishing returns, but if you want every last drop of efficiency and/or are just into this kind of thing I can see the appeal for ISRT. I've only just gotten to about 50 wpm on colemak dh, please don't tempt me with another layout!

[@BenVallack]

Now would be a great time to switch heh! I didn’t really expect to change to it but I gave it a quick test and couldn’t believe how natural/effortless it felt, so I just stuck with it!

[@brynwalsh926]

Hi Ben, Loved watching your videos. I've ordered a gergoplex of my own now off the back of them. I've been doing some googling and I'm confused by the difference between Colemak, Colemak DH, and Colemak DHM. Can you clarify? Also do you have a carry case for the little thing? I'd like to use it at work if possible too.

[@brynwalsh926]

Also hello from a fellow Devon lad!

[@BenVallack]

Ha hi! Thanks for your comments. Colemak is the original version, DH and DHm are now the same, there is another version called DHk but I think most people agree if you are switching now to just go straight to DH. However, I’m currently enjoying ISRT which is broadly similar to Colemak DH but I am finding it very enjoyable at the moment. Will give it a review when I get up to 90wpm.

[@BenVallack]

Re a case, I actually just chuck it in my pocket!

[@brynwalsh926]

@@BenVallack I also want to say that I'm from (near) Topsham (Ebford?). Your video of the town made me all bleary-eyed with nostalgia. Thank you for that. An oft-forgotten part of the country.

[@HaMMeR33661]

I disagree that learning a layout next to QWERTY is a bad idea -- even when in a workspace where computers are shared. If it gets you pain relief or more comfortable work at your own machine, I'd take the plunge any day. More importantly, I think that if you stick to a custom layout on a ortholinear or otherwise different-shaped keyboard, the muscle memory gets distinguished quite well -- I never get confused between the two because the typing experience is just to different. I'm not 100% proficient with both equally ofc, but for the occasional keeb borrowing where bringing your own is cumbersome or you forget it at home, I don't experience issues.

[@M4CARBINE556]

I have a Planck coming in a few days and I'm going to try a new layout. Do you have any recommendations? I'm a programmer and I use Helix as my editor if that makes a difference. Right now I'm looking at Canary and Gallium V2.

[@trololoev]

does learning new layout on ergonomic keyboard have sense? you didn't move fingers as much as on regular keyboard.

[@bc4198]

Fantastic, thank you so much!

[@mafoozela7435]

Hi Ben, inspired by your videos, I just converted to a Piantor 42-key keyboard. I work as a software developer, so I'm wondering if you have any tips for learning the layout of all the special characters on my other layers. Thanks!

[@RedBlueProductions1]

ngram type has gotten me comfortable on a mirrored nerps layout and it's so weird to be able to actually use a second layout to type with. it's like talking in a new language

[@RedBlueProductions1]

seriously, it's a cheat code for learning a layout with regular practice

[@synthgal1090]

Damn i really should fix and upgrade my Iris now.

[@abbze8272]

90 wpm? There is a low speed, how much can you get right now, after learn colemac?

[@davidbcg286]

How about your experience with Vim? If you use it. I chose to learn Colemak (touch typing) and I regularly used a qwerty staggered keyboard when I grab my laptop to a meeting, on my phone or iPad. The difference is that I look at the keys so it's like a separate place in my mind.

[@ranelpadon8834]

@DavidBcg I'm using Vim/Neovim/MacVim with a Colemak DH layout. You might want to take a look on my remaps, which is kinda tricky initially (my other settings are in that repo as well): github.com/ranelpadon/configs/blob/master/nvim/mappings.vim

[@philipnelson5]

Where can we find the key mappings you use for your boards?

[@FelixSargent]

This is the content we all want. Where's your QMK fork?

[@BenVallack]

I don’t have a fork, just downloaded the Germ fork duplicated existing configs to flash for the GergoPlex. Oryx links are in my layout video descriptions. Will share my GergoPlex configs asap.

[@MattJoyce01]

Very interesting. I literally decided I would try and learn Workman today, so curious to learn why you switched to Colemak-DH, can you share your reasons?

[@BenVallack]

Here you go! kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZvImpePg6uKrK8

[@MattJoyce01]

@@BenVallack right, well that was pretty compelling. Just based on the significant community and support tools, I switched to Colman-DH. I have never been a fast or accurate typist, but I think I can be better. Thanks for your vids, they are super interesting and great quality.

[@plenus7392]

currently learning colemak-DH with a very nice userscript for keybr that actually shows the mod DH layout on screen, im not that far into it but would you say that using that fancy shmancy extend layer on Caps Lock is better than just simple backspace on caps lock? Thanks for the input!

[@AbhiramKuchibhotla]

Hi Ben! Great video! Any chance we could get a look at your gergoplex layout? I'm sort of on the fence about 30% keebs and I can't seem to wrap my head around where a lot of the non-alphabet stuff goes. Cheers!

[@BenVallack]

Yeah I am due another layout video soon!

[@AbhiramKuchibhotla]

@@BenVallack Awesome! I'll keep an eye out! :D

[@abc123number1america]

I am looking at learning a new layout and this looks like a great guide, but i have one issue, the keybr website does not have any settings to add more letters from my language. I have æøå which i also would need to learn. Do you know of any other good websites like that with the ability to customize more what letter i use?

[@windowsrefund]

So great!

[@hcjkruse]

You are probably one of the last people who has a ready-made Gergoplex for the time being. The maker currently only does kits for personal reasons. Anyway, curious about your experience switching between Corne and Gergoplex. The Gergoplex looks attractive as a portable solution. I Own a Corne and have split layout on my Planck too. As a vim user, I found a layout that puts ':' on one of the thumb keys a very interesting experience. I need some special code for that because it is also a layer key and ':' is a shifted symbol, so LT7(':') is not going to work.

[@nickgoogle4525]

Actually Colemak is not that great with rolls. I was surprised when I found that out. The ratio from inward to outward rolls should be high. The theoretical maximum is around 2.3. Colemak only has 1.2. AdNW, XOY or PUQ have around 1.8! BTW Qwerty is at 1, so the same amount of inward and outward roles. Colemak is better than Qwerty for sure, but it is (as often the case) especially good at marketing, while better layouts are not that aggressively marketed. I came up with an own layout and learned that. My layout is roughly about the same for English performance-wise to Colemak, but my layout is better for German and some other languages at the same time. In the end my layout is relatively close to Colemak, because I used the same preconceptions to develop it. I find that the right hand is way to busy with Colemak (or my layout) and I am now switching to a slight variant of XOY, but using the idea of a diacritics and compose key (like PUQ does). That feels a lot better and more even on both hands than Colemak. So if you're up to a challange and switching another time I suggest to have a look at adnw.de. Yes it's in German. Like I said the markting is less loud, but the layout is better IMO. Giving up the XCV-shortcuts and requiring a complete remapped keyboard. But IMO it's worth it, _when_ one wants to learn a better layout than qwerty.

[@awesomedavid2012]

This is why I chose to go with the Engram layout (also because there are no letters in the lateral index finger column). Really enjoying it so far

[@Pronuss]

Is it possible to learn a new layout but still be able to use qwerty? I imagine that it could be pretty difficult.

[@BenVallack]

Yep lots of people manage that.

[@beetlejuss]

Have you checked the characorder?

[@EightSixx]

whats the keyboard?

[@BenVallack]

Added links to the description, cheers.

[@Xealous]

Why did you swap from Workman to Colemak-dh?

[@BenVallack]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZvImpePg6uKrK8

[@ArnaudMEURET]

Key-Bee-Are !?! Key-Bur !!

[@thalesprotazio]

O much hassle