If you know Latex you may easily type formatting and math in Texmacs using the very notation you are talking about. E.g., in text mode, if you want subsequente text to be emphasized, just type "\em [RETURN]" and then your text. To move outside the emphasized environment strike the right arrow once (anyway you will notice a cyan box that highlight the new environment). If you want te text to be red, just type "\red [RETURN]" and so on. To enter math inline mode type "$" and then, as you prefer, "\alpha [RETURN]" to get the alpha or "\frac [RETURN]" to get ... (I think you guessed what I mean ...). To enter equation mode, "\equation [RETURN]".

You will notice that typing this way with texmacs is light-years faster than latex and faster than LyX, too.

You will find a lot info if you look at texmacs documentation and previous posts of this mailing list.

Best regards