Reasons why you're learning shorthand?

[scriptmasteress]

It is an long lost art form of writing. I learned Gregg Shorthand in IOE, *Industrial Office Education, in early 1970s in High School.

Now and then, I still use the brief forms in between writing in long hand to write down notes quickly.

**in the old shorthand book, the word between the commas was a "comma parenthetical"....lol

[scriptmasteress]

I am trying to clear off the rust on my old pen tip...seeking a little motivation and group therapy to assist me. : )

[gsmember]

I can't help but remember the best joke I've heard about shorthand and laughing out loud for sure...."Shorthand is a really great skill to have, it just takes a lot longer to write than longhand." LOL

I can't remember the exact words of that joke but I sure can identify with it.

Oh yeah, why am I learning shorthand (still)? Just for the fun of it.

[alankinna]

Bear with me. I 'aint boasting, it's just my path of Gregg...

I learned shorthand in high school. Easy credit.
I attained some level of mastery with it.
I learned Morse Code and ditto.
Starting a business in late 20th century, I replaced "stupid" codes in Microsoft Word's AutoCorrect feature with those of my own.

Why learn Gregg? It's fun, creative, engages your brain (cool).

Alan

[gregg4ever]

I learned Gregg in high school lo! these many moons ago. At that time only young women usually took office courses like typing and shorthand so it seemed like a double win -- cool, geekly skillset and being the only guy in a classroom of gals. It worked out well on both fronts.

I have quite a collection of those lapel pin awards they used to give out and was looking for more when I stumbled across this board. Although I can't write any more and doubt I'd be able to keep it up, it is sure fun to hang out with others sharing an enthusiasm for JRG's creation.

Write on, folks.

[pipistrel]

I fell in love with Gregg Shorthand in my teens. It was the beauty of it that captivated me. In my last year at school I arranged individual lessons, only to find to my disgust that my teacher used Pitman's, which I considered ugly and impractical with its thick and thin lines and its sharp angles. I went on to learn Arabic, which gave me an outlet for my calligraphic yearnings, and later I made unsuccessful attempts with Chinese. Now, nearly sixty years later, I have gone back to Gregg. My motives are purely aesthetic; I want to produce something beautiful. I am not interested in writing fast; on the contrary I am happy to take my time. I have no need of brief forms or abbreviations. Rhyming verse is particularly satisfying to write because Gregg makes the rhymes visible on the page. I could call them 'eye rhymes', echoing the title of a book to which my friend Sally Bayley contributed.

[trentlj]

I truly enjoy the art of Gregg Shorthand of many years. I use Gregg Shorthand on a daily basis for journaling, note taking, and it's my preferred written expression of choice. Also, for relaxation, I enjoy transcribing Edgar Allen Poe's poems using the Gregg Shorthand Anniversary editon. It's an excellent venue to explore and revisit old english vocabulary at the same time.

It's a pleasure to see so many people learning or channeling back to shorthand. So, happy learning and keep up the good work!

[Deb]

I love reading these reasons. Keep posting them!

[washbear]

I took Gregg shorthand in high school (around the mid-80's). I only took one semester and didn't study it as well as I should have, even though I did like the idea of learning it; and I never used it again until the past year. But over the years after high school, now and then I'd think about taking it up again, enough so that I picked up a Diamond Jubilee book and an Anniversary dictionary (at the time, I had no idea there were various editions!) Then I heard about Notehand and knew that would be a perfect fit for me as a homeschooling parent. During the summer of 2015 I worked through the entire Notehand book. I'm now teaching it to my kids.

I like the privacy it gives me. I have kept a journal for nearly a year now completely in Notehand. I take notes in church.  As I get older, I really appreciate what shorthand does for my brain-- I believe it is helping it to stay active and not get flabby. I hope to improve with it in every way (better penmanship and greater speed).

I don't believe the Bible was ever done in Gregg shorthand, at least not in a commercial way. At some point, I'd like to try to write out the scriptures. I think it would be great practice, and it would double as a study-aid for both subjects.

[Deb]

washbear, I didn't know there were other versions at one time. I learned DJS also, gave away the books thinking I was done with shorthand as it's hardly used now days and then needed it for another job (minutes in meetings) and picked up some books from a thrift store and they were Anniversary.

Also there is a sub board, hiding, under Books in Shorthand for any shorthand you want to do from the Bible or other religious texts. Check out the pinned post first. There is a Bible of Gregg Shorthand, but it's in an archive and not scanned for the public yet (no one has gotten around to doing that).

[washbear]

Jun 8, 2016 14:02:00 GMT -5 Deb said:

Also there is a sub board, hiding, under Books in Shorthand for any shorthand you want to do from the Bible or other religious texts. Check out the pinned post first. There is a Bible of Gregg Shorthand, but it's in an archive and not scanned for the public yet (no one has gotten around to doing that).

Awesome!  Yes, I'll check it out!

[servius]

50 years old now but a lifelong learner. I've always learned best reading and writing. I've missed or have forgotten a ton out of lectures and speeches I would have gotten much out of had I had a transcript.

Technology doesn't really exist to do this and shorthand is essentially free and doesn't depend on batteries.

As to Gregg shorthand, my brief research indicates this is the quickest to write and I figure it was the most popular version for most of the 20th century because it was the best.

I just don't know which version of Gregg to learn.

[servius]

I decided on the Anniversary Edition using the Functional Method. I ordered 2 books, "Gregg Shorthand. Manual for the Functional Method", Parts One & Two from 1936.

I figured Anniversary Edition was fastest and what I want is transcription of long lectures, not just note taking or personal notes.

Secondly, the Functional Method seemed like the best way for me to learn.

Worth a try anyway.

[arthaey]

Jul 16, 2016 19:56:28 GMT -5 servius said:

I decided on the Anniversary Edition using the Functional Method. I ordered 2 books, "Gregg Shorthand. Manual for the Functional Method", Parts One & Two from 1936.

Where did you order the Functional Method books? How expensive were they?

I'm interested in them, but the "official" manual being a free PDF is a pretty strong argument for that method.

[servius]

I ordered them from Amazon Used & New. 

One cost $1 and the other $2.43. Not including shipping.

It's interesting. You learn to read shorthand before writing shorthand.

Marty