Learning Morse Code

You might be thinking to yourself, "Why would I ever need to learn morse code?  No one ever uses it anymore."  Not so.  Morse code is very popular to and well-used by amateur radio operators all over the world.  It is used frequently in radio aircraft navigation.  Many special forces in the military are trained in morse code.  U.S. Navy ships use signal lamps to send the code.  Many pilots and air traffic controllers are fluent, or at least have a basic understanding.  Morse code is a means of emergency communication that uses less power and cuts through more interference than almost any other means.  It is simple, highly versatile, and internationally recognized.  It can be communicated visually or audibly by using simple objects like flashlights, mirrors, smoke, or whistles.   By practicing for only a few minutes every day, you can soon develop an invaluable emergency skill that could save your life.

International Morse Code:
   
          A: . _                                                    T: _
          B: _ . . .                                              U: . . _
          C: _ . _ .                                          V: . . . _ 
          D: _ . .                                               W: . _ _
          E: .                                                         X: _ . . _
          F: . . _ .                                             Y: _ . _ _
          G: _ _ .                                               Z: _ _ . .
          H: . . . .                                          
          I: . .                                                     
          J: . _ _ _                                           1: . _ _ _ _
          K: _ . _                                                2: . . _ _ _
          L: . _ . .                                             3: . . . _ _
          M: _ _                                                   4: . . . . _
          N: _ .                                                    5: . . . . .
          O: _ _ _                                              6: _ . . . .
          P: . _ _ .                                            7: _ _ . . .
          Q: _ _ . _                        8: _ _ _ . .
          R: . _ .                                                 9: _ _ _ _ .
          S: . . .                                                   0: _ _ _ _ _
       
The most common letters in English are represented by the shortest codes, making coding more efficient.  Technically speaking, each dot is 1/3 the length of one dash, and every space between letters is a dash.  Every space between words should be the length of about 7 dots.  It all seems confusing at first.  Just start out by familiarizing yourself, learning the letters, practicing a little at a time.  As you slowly become more competent learn to be more accurate with your spacing.  Accuracy will make your code easier to translate.

Other ideas for learning:

• German psychologist Ludwig Koch developed a method of learning morse code by listening at regular speed but beginning with only two letters.  After listening and decoding for 5 minutes, compare your results with the true ones.  If you were 90% correct, add another letter!  Continue building on your knowledge letter by letter.  This will not only help you hear the codes and decipher them in your head, but it will be faster and more accurate than most other methods.  Go to this page to begin practicing.
• Practice coding simple words by writing them down and sounding them out loud with "dih" for the dots and "dah" for the dashes.  Once you can code words by just sounding them out (without writing them down) move to books or paragraphs.
• Memorize letters with easy patterns first.  One dash is "T"; one dot is "E."  Two dashes is "M"; two dots is "I."
• Many morse code mnemonics have been designed visually and verbally to make remembering morse code easier.  However, some experts strongly discourage using them and suggest instead a stronger focus on listening.
• Here is a page with a special chart you can print so you can practice listening to the "dits" and "dahs" of morse code and hone your coding/decoding skills. 
• Find words that rise and fall with the patterns in morse.  Make the dots represent a rise in inflection and the dashes represent a fall in inflection.  For example, "P" could be "Pho-to-graph-y" with a rise on the first and last syllable, just like the morse code: . _ _ .
• Find a famous line of music that correlates with a letter's morse pattern to help you remember tricky letters.  The famous measure in Beethoven's 5th Symphony could be changed to "di-di-di-dah" which translates to the letter "V," which is also the roman numeral that equals 5.  Finding associations like this are extremely useful at boosting your memory.
• Practice with a friend.  Find someone who can learn with you so you can practice sending and receiving messages.  It makes it more fun and gives you practical experience.