keydown() keyup() .
keydown() , keyup().
var starttime;
var curKey;
$('#seconds-counter').keydown(function(e) {
if (curKey != e.which) {
var d = new Date();
starttime = d.getTime();
$('#down-time').text(starttime);
curKey = e.which;
}
});
$('#seconds-counter').keyup(function() {
var d = new Date();
var endTime = d.getTime();
$('#up-time').text(endTime);
var timeTaken = endTime - starttime;
$('#result-val').text(timeTaken / 1000);
curKey = null;
});
JS Fiddle
(Edit: :-)) keyup() curKey = null.