FoundationsLesson 4 of 30 · Resting position
A and semicolon: the little fingers
The home row is complete. The little fingers take A and the semicolon, and you type your first real words.
- New keys
- A;
- To pass
- Done when the check reaches 92% accuracy and 8 words a minute.
Lesson 4 is locked
It opens when you pass the check in lesson 3 (S and L: the ring fingers). Lessons open one at a time, in order.
The little fingers rest on A and on the semicolon. People are surprised that a punctuation mark gets a home key while letters like E and T have to be reached for, but the home row is about where the fingers sit, not about which letters are common. The right little finger sits on the semicolon because that is where it lands when the index finger is on J. Later it will also reach up for P and down for the slash, so it is worth getting it comfortable now.
The little finger is short and weak, and A is one of the most common letters in English, so this key deserves more attention than its size suggests. Press it the same way as the others: from the knuckle, hand still. Do not turn the wrist to bring the finger closer. If the reach feels long, it is usually because the hand has drifted toward the middle of the keyboard, so check that the index finger is still on its bump.
With A in play you can type real words for the first time, and the drills from here on will use them wherever the taught keys allow. Real words matter because your fingers learn sequences, not single keys. The pattern for the word ask is different from the pattern for the word sad even though they share letters, and the more patterns your hands have met, the less each new one costs.
as ask all fall lad sad dad add salad flask alas