Most composers who use music-notation programs such as MakeMusic Finale, Sibelius Software Sibelius, Notion Music Notion, and Gvox Encore still input musical information using a mouse, a computer keyboard, and a MIDI instrument controller, such as a MIDI keyboard or guitar. Creatures of habit, we continue to make do with what we know.

FIG. 1: Belkin’s Nostromo N52 includes 26 programmable keys that are -operated by the left hand.

That's why watching younger students can be so instructive. Most of them have grown up playing video games, and gamers have long known that the computer keyboard is an ineffective way to interact with game programs. For that matter, using the QWERTY keyboard is an inefficient way to work with a word processing program. An antiquated expedient, the QWERTY keyboard slows down fast typists, who can work more quickly using newer layouts such as Dvorak. Any keyboard, however, regardless of its layout, is inefficient when compared with the alternatives that are being developed for video games.

Because speed is of the essence in video games, players and developers have always sought alternate methods of data input. Players of first-person shooters, or FPSs, need quick and blind access to keystrokes when interacting with their characters. For years, players of popular FPSs (the Halo, Doom, Call of Duty, and Quake series, for example) relied on the mouse for searching, pointing, and shooting but had to use keystrokes for character movement, weapons choice, communication, and other commands. Any time that you have to take your eyes off the screen, however, you risk annihilation.

An interesting alternative to the keyboard arrived in 2001 with the introduction of the SpeedPad from Belkin. Unlike a conventional game pad (which you hold in both hands, with the thumbs pressing the buttons on the controller), you hold the SpeedPad in your left hand to access programmable keys. Your right hand operates the mouse as usual. The SpeedPad allows you to keep your eyes fixed firmly on the screen and to radically reduce your hand movements.

The most popular SpeedPad is the Nostromo, which comes in two models: the N50 and the N52 (see Fig. 1). The N50 has 9 programmable keys in 4 different configurations for a total of 36 customized functions. The N52 has 26 keys in 4 configurations for a total of 104 functions. The layout can be customized for each individual user. Unfortunately, the Nostromo isn't intended for use with the right hand; nonetheless, this SpeedPad is a favorite of FPS computer-game players.

FIG. 2: Nostromo Array lets you program the SpeedPad’s buttons to -perform various tasks in almost any software program. Here, the buttons are assigned to put rhythmic values into Sibelius.

You can easily program the Nostromo SpeedPad for use with any Mac or PC application, including music-notation programs. The Nostromo has been programmed with a small application called Nostromo Array (see Fig. 2), where you choose which software to use, and then assign a keystroke or series of keystrokes to each button on the device. You can assign one- or multiple-keystroke commands (Option + X, for example) as well as macros.

In Sibelius, you can enter note pitches from the computer keyboard using the computer key A for the pitch of A, the computer key B for the pitch of B, and so on. Using Nostromo Array, you can program the first two rows of the N50 or N52 to enter note pitches. Function keys 02 through 05 and 07 through 10 would then correspond to the pitches in the musical scale. You can set the function keys 01 and 06 to enter sharps and flats. On the Nostromo N52, you can set function keys 11 through 14 to common articulations, such as tenuto, staccato, and legato.

The Nostromo N52 can operate in any of four shift states: the default, the red, the blue, and the green states. You select the desired state by pressing a button under your thumb, and in each state, the function buttons can take on different assignments. For example, you can program the function keys to provide pitch input in the Blue Shift state, but to aid in rhythm selection in the Red Shift state (see Fig. 2). You can assign another set — say, for text commands — to the Green Shift state.

In addition to the function keys, both Nostromo SpeedPads feature a scroll wheel, which is handy to use for navigating view, and a directional thumb pad. The N52 also has an assignable button above the thumb pad. All of these are programmable. The SpeedPads' many options might be more than the casual user would need, but they can greatly benefit the professional arranger and layout artist. Each shift state can be assigned to a specific task for each program. The variations are endless.

You can also use the Nostromo SpeedPads for macro input. A macro is a string of instructions that you can trigger with a single command. For instance, by programming a macro in your photo-editing software, you can trigger a complex series of commands, such as Open, Sharpen, Straighten, Fix Color, Resize For Email, Save, and Close with a single keystroke. That saves considerable time and effort, especially compared with typing all those commands individually or selecting them one by one from a menu using the mouse. Nostromo Array allows you to record and assign macro strings for any program.