Why is it that a pianist who can play at speed without looking at the piano keys is given the utmost respect and applause and yet when I type at my normal speed (some ridiculous amount of words a minute) without looking at my keys, it’s dismissed as geeky and sad? Is speedy touch-typing not a skill?
Surely both are simply matter of remembering where to place your fingers? Perhaps one of my visitors plays the piano and could share their thoughts..
Edit (30th May): I feel like I should add a little note to this post as it was taken far too seriously. I don’t honestly believe that playing the piano and typing are the same thing, and would happily demonstrate that by attempting to play the piano if I a) had one and b) didn’t already know that I’d be headbutted for doing so. You can stop telling me how hard it is being a pianist now! ;)
27 May at 10:07 pm
I think it’s a skill! I can do both :) However, you can get away with typing slowly, using one finger and staring at the keyboard, but pianists who did that really wouldn’t get very far.
27 May at 11:23 pm
I can do both too, haha.
28 May at 12:15 am
I think it’s the way that music vs. computer stuff is generally perceived in the world. I mean…music is perceived as ‘art’ and thus is associated with talented ‘artists’. It’s a “if you don’t have musical talent in the first place, you’ll never be able to get it”, whereas touch typing is something that can be trained into a person. Computer stuff is perceived as ‘geeky’ and thus associated with fat white middleaged computer geeks with no life. I dunno. I think I rambled.
28 May at 1:01 am
Actually, I play the piano, and it’s not just the matter of remembering where to place your fingers… as much as I wish it so. The computer keyboard is something that is standard. MOST people learn it. And since most people already know it, they don’t think it’s very special. Unless you are typing 12039434085 wpm. AND if you make a ridiculous amount of noise. Also, you are only noticed if you are a small kid. There was once this six(or seven?)-year-old child on the television who could type 100 or so wpm. Great. The kid had no idea how to read, though. The program only had nonsense words on its ‘to-type’ thing. And piano is something you train at for YEARS. You have to do the dynamics, the rythem… etc., etc… I can play incredibly fast after practicing for an hour or two on a simple song. But people only cheer on those who play those fast 10+ minute songs. Or at least, that’s what most people do. Just fast playing is flat and not music.
28 May at 1:29 am
Why is a painter showered with compliments, attention and respect but a vectorist just called a computer nerd?
28 May at 2:29 am
I play the piano and I can tell you right now that I type faster on a computer keyboard than I do on a piano one. I think. Actually I think it’s about the same, I haven’t played the piano for a while though so maybe not… Your images aren’t loading for me for some reason. *Refreshes for millionth time*
28 May at 2:29 am
…ooh look, images show up again. Yay.
28 May at 2:42 am
I type fast AND I don’t use my pinkies.
28 May at 2:56 am
As someone else stated, I think it probably has something to do with the fact that music is considered more as an art, whereas computer related things are more ‘geeky.’ Piano does have a lot more to it that simply pressing down the proper keys though. Typing on a keyboard is just writing out words, etc. but with piano you’re reading music, and or have memorized some music. I’m not quite sure how to explain it. Though I play piano, I’m not fantastic at it. Great piano players always fascinate me. Playing wonderful things on a piano just seems more impressive to me than typing some words fast on a computer. -shrug-
28 May at 5:21 am
I type very fast, but it’s obnoxious, because I am a loud typer. As my pianist skills, are quite horrible. It takes me forever to move one octave [sp?] higher. I’m learning how to play though. =) I wish some of this typing skill could come in handy. =(
28 May at 5:35 am
Well I used to play the piano (but by no means fast or particularly well), but there’s more to playing the piano than just knowing where the keys are. First of all, you need to have a certain stance (not be hunched over), then your fingers need to constantly look like you’re holding an apple, and most importantly well playing the piano is not hitting some keys. Some need to be hit harder, some lighter, some places need to be played faster, others slower (depending on the piece interpreted). So, I believe there’s a bit more to playing the piano than just typing. Oh and one moe thing: if you make a mistake while typing, you can always erase it and continue. With playing the piano that’s a bit tricky to achieve.
28 May at 6:06 am
I think it would be a lot cooler if speed typing involved music (nice sounding music) coming out of the keys. And not just the rattling from keys being pressed. :P
28 May at 7:56 am
I’m echoing Vera and Travis, becuase what they say is true. Playing the piano isn’t simply pressing keys at a fast speed! I know that there’s a bit more thought involved when I play piano than when I type. But Jem, if you really want applause for your *Aw3sUm*!!11!~ typing skillz(!) you need only ask and I’m sure you’ll get some :P You certainly won’t hear me calling you geeky for being able to type fast!
28 May at 8:11 am
I’ve never had that problem. In fact, people are always asking me to demonstrate my kickass typing skills. Why, I don’t know, since other people in my IT class can type fast too. What’s the deal? I wouldn’t mind learning to play piano, but I put flute before piano because a grand piano is less portable. And we don’t own a piano.
28 May at 9:32 am
It’s hard to compare the two. It’s not just pressing in keys on a piano, a lot of other things come with it as well. Where typing on the keyboard really is just typing in keys, not much to do with feeling or timing etc. My boss was quiet impressed with my typing though (or so it seemed anyway) he asked me if I could type without looking at it and I told him yes and he just said something along the lines of ooh, you’re one of the few here who can do that! Which surprised me, I work in the office at the export department, all we do is type!
28 May at 12:37 pm
I love how most people have ignored this one fact: Typing is done with one (and the occasional second) finger at a time. Complicated piano uses two hands, requiring a good pianist to focus two hands, doing two different things at the same time. I have the most respect for people doing accompaniment though; Chords with four notes and then a whole different melody in the other hand? Ya I WISH I could do that.
28 May at 12:50 pm
One finger at a time?! How fast do you type Mike? I use both hands at the same time – usually using at least four fingers on each hand. This is how I manage to type so fast. Typing like I do is a skill and don’t you doubt it.
28 May at 1:24 pm
Jem, I believe that he means that only one finger at a time is pressing a key. You wouldn’t press three or so keys, for example, at the exact same time like you would to strike a chord on the piano. The “occasional second finger” I believe refers to the shift key, or combinations such as [Ctrl]+[F]. I keep both hands on my computer keyboard, but I dont usually encounter the need to press more than 2 keys at a time as I do in piano, to create harmonies between the notes. I am sorry if I made any grammatical errors, as English is my second language.
28 May at 1:28 pm
No, that makes perfect sense Julia, guess I didn’t think of that. :)
28 May at 2:21 pm
I play piano. I type. I don’t type as fast as I play piano. As Mike said, you’re usually only pressing one key at a time while typing, but piano is much more complicated.
28 May at 6:11 pm
Like Vera said, there’s a heck of a lot more than playing piano than you just putting your fingers in the right place. You can play all the right notes and still sound like poo; you have to have musicality. Also, it’s fun to listen to someone play piano, but listening to someone type isn’t all that exciting. :)
28 May at 6:26 pm
Heh, I still have a couple of friends who go ‘wow’ at my speed typing, although the numbers are starting to decrease. :( It is a good skill, though! I must admit.
28 May at 7:39 pm
oh, I don’t know on the “one key at a time on the KB” thing…how many of you run Windows? CTRL-ALT-DEL…anyone fancy a speed competition on that? ;)
28 May at 8:03 pm
HA HA!!! Very true!
28 May at 10:25 pm
I got that at college, people gawking at me as if I just said a naughty word. Touch-typing is a skill, a skill valued in certain jobs. I’m proud to be able to type without looking at the keyboard. :D
28 May at 11:51 pm
Really? No one’s impressed by your typing skills? I get compliments for my typing now and then, and I bet I don’t even type as fast as you do. I’m sure I’m repeating other people, but playing the piano is a lot harder than typing, for me at least. Also, I don’t think people respect pianists for playing fast or not looking at the keys; they applaud them for the music they make.
29 May at 1:08 am
I won’t repeat what others have said (about how piano is more complicated) because you already know that, but I still consider fast typing to be a skill. Last year everyone was required to take a “wheel rotation class” that gave you a taste of six different electives in one school year so you would know what electives to sign up for in the rest of your middle-school years. In the computer class wheel, we had this “typing record” thing and the fatest typist got his or her name written on the board along with the wpm. It was a respected achievement and I got many compliments for keeping my record for many months after I rotated to another elective. So nobody considers typing fast as geeky or sad here LOL. And I couldn’t imagine why anyone would. It’s most definitely a skill.
29 May at 2:07 pm
Anyone can “play” the piano, it takes skill it play one properly. Anyone can type, but that too requires skill to be able to type accurately and at high speeds. Fact is Jem, some people just like to be critical and make spiteful comments, it’s in their nature. You are a good and accurate typist and i consider you to be highly skilled at what you do, but then i am biased on account of my motherly pride that i have in you :o) Keep doing what you do Jem, you do it well!
29 May at 2:45 pm
Jem, that wasn’t what I meant. At the very most, despite the fact that I use both hands to type, you’re almost always only depressing one key at a time. Complicated piano has you depressing multiple keys at a time to get the right chords, etc.
29 May at 3:50 pm
I actually find it quite entertaining when, during ICT lessons, I’m busy typing at Mach 5, hammering away at those puny little pieces of plastic, tongue resting in the corner of my mouth, my mind becoming one with the keyboard, my fingers and the computer, and when I finally reach the end of what I’m typing, I turn around to find everyone gawping at me. My skills are totally pwnsome.
29 May at 11:05 pm
OK. If you can touch-type at 75+ WPM AND not make a single mistake after typing for 30 minutes solid, then you can start comparing yourself to a respectable piano player. Now try memorizing a 2500-word document and type that from memory for the 30 minutes. Then, try making pleasing rhythmic sounds with your keypresses as you’re typing.
29 May at 11:32 pm
I live with a computer scientist. I never get any form of impressed-ness for my computer skills, even if I am the second most computer literate person in my house. I win at the being the best girl though, as I do win EVERYTHING at the best girl competition, by default seeing as I live with 3 boys.
30 May at 7:31 am
@Johnny Smits: The entry was not meant to be serious – I don’t genuinely think that typists and pianists are of the same calibre. (Not many people got that.) I was merely taking a slightly sarcastic look at two similar activities. FYI though, I can type at about 110WPM on a good day with very few mistakes.
30 May at 7:48 am
It’s simple. 1) The piano also has a few pedals, three, sometimes two. 2) When I try to press 9 keys on my keyboard, my computer starts to beep, meaning it can’t handle it. The piano keeps working. :)
30 May at 8:03 pm
I play piano better than I type. …not saying alot. XD
31 May at 8:07 am
You just hang out with the wrong crowd. ;o) My hubby consistently stares adoringly at me whenever I get off on a typing jag… It’s loud (thank you, old keyboard), and irritating, and he wonders how on earth I can stand to sit here and listen to the clack-clack-clacking. Or maybe that’s not the kind of attention you wanted to get with your typing? Hrm… :o)
13 Dec at 4:14 am
I have always wanted to learn to play the piano. I have taken many lessons, but don’t really consider myself being able to play. On the other hand I type very very fast, I usually type faster than my secretary. Is it easier to play a electronic keyboard or a real Piano? I have a electronic keyboard, but it doesnt seem to have the same “feeling” as the real thing. Should I get a real piano, or how do I know if I’m just wasting my time and money? :o) Drop me an email: RobertOBCC@cwjamaica.com