Using the typing keyboard to control the virtual keyboard?

Just started with Garagae Band. Putting together filler music for DVDs that someone else is creating. I am a musician. This is professional work, but I am volunteering. It's a spare time sort of thing. Worthy organization, very high-ideals work.

My interest: using the ordinary (word processing, etc.) keyboard to control the virtual (piano) one, on the screen. Is it possible?

Not with the mouse clicker -- obviously you can do it with the mouse. And it is clunky. You won't make music that way, mostly.

But why not set up a (software) correspondence with typewriter keys? That way, tese here keys could serve as white notes: qwertyuiop[] and then the half-tones would be just above, as follows: 2346780-= Some other key or keys could shift the octave up or down.

A person could do the same melody lines, and chords, on such a qwerty keyboard as on one of the ordinary piano-like keyboard controllers. Minus any and all niceties, of course, like velocity. But some controllers lack velocity sensitivity.

See what I mean? Does anyone know if there is such a program? It would save purchasing the keyboard controller.

Brian