Have you ever been typing out a Facebook comment, email or Google search and thought to yourself, “Gee, I like writing on things on my computer, but it’s just too darn quiet”?

Alec Smecher, drummer for the Canadian band The Elixxxirs and self-described geek, is right with you. He recently invented a drum keyboard. That is, a drum set that also conveniently and loudly types text. For the rhythm-inclined, this is a gift from the Rock Geek gods.

Smecher is the first to admit that a drumset-based keyboard may not be the most practical option. It takes up a lot of space, requires a unique set of skills to write with, and may annoy your neighbors more than the average laptop. But it’s probably the most fun advance in typing technology since emoticons became socially acceptable.

"I was amused by the idea and interested in the transfer of skills across media that would be impossible without computerization,” Smecher told Gizmag, “Plus improving my drumming by typing an email seems like a pretty weird possibility."

To make his drum keyboard work, he hooked up his digital drumset (from Pintech) with a MIDI sequencer on his laptop. Smecher used his tech knowledge to create a character set that would respond to different patterns played out on the drums. He came up with the coding from several different inspirations.

"Foremost is Morse code: E and T are single-pad patterns, other infrequent ones like W, X, and Z are more complicated…I learned Morse code as a kid while earning my HAM license, and I admit that I doubted I would ever use it. Finally, I'm proven wrong."

He also used the classic QWERTY keyboard layout for further inspiration. Just like how the space bar is located at the base of the keyboard, the kickdrum provides spaces for Smecher’s system.

For certain consonants, the percussive sound of the letter was utilized. Smecher types an S with a double cymbal hit. T is a hi-hat hit.

Smecher himself is still getting the hang of his creation. He wants to debut the keyboard (keydrums?) at the Vancouver East Side Culture Crawl in November, but admits he’ll need lots of practice beforehand.

Gizmag predicts good things for the drumboard, like “songs with secret messages hidden within drum patterns” and “timed output signals being sent to a speech synthesizer that allow the drummer to actually talk to the audience.”

I want one just for writing bad poetry while bashing out a sick solo.