FWIW I mostly use a keyboard with a keypad, but no MIDI keyboard. I mapped the keypad so I can enter music quickly with the left hand on the main keyboard and the right hand on the keypad:
Number keys - note durations.
“.” - rhythm augmentation dot.
Top row - flat, natural, sharp, and double-flat and double-sharp with the ctrl key.
Right-hand column (only 2 keys on Windows, not 3 as on Macs) - move selected note an octave up or down.
That leaves the left hand mostly typing A-G, Q and R. I unmapped the zoom in/out keys Z and X, since I found I was hitting them by accident more than by design (and I can never remember which of Z and X is “zoom in” and which is “zoom out”). Ctrl + and ctrl - work just as well for me, and several other apps also use those shortcuts.
Daniel might not totally approve of messing up some of the carefully thought-out philosophy behind some of the default short cuts, but I don’t care - this works for me 