FoundationsLesson 2 of 30 · Resting position

D and K: the middle fingers

The middle fingers rest one key out from the bumps. Two more home keys, and a rule about which finger owns which key.

New keys: DK
To pass: Done when the check reaches 92% accuracy and 7 words a minute.

Lesson 2 is locked

It opens when you pass the check in lesson 1 (Sit, rest, and find the bumps). Lessons open one at a time, in order.

With your index fingers on the bumps, your middle fingers are already sitting on the next two keys: D on the left, K on the right. You do not reach for these keys, you simply press down where the finger already is. That is the whole point of a home key, and it is why the first unit of this course feels almost too easy. Enjoy it. The habit being built is not the key itself but the return: press, and come straight back to rest.

Here is the rule that makes touch typing work. Every key on the keyboard belongs to exactly one finger, and that finger is the only one that ever presses it. D belongs to the left middle finger. K belongs to the right middle finger. Nobody else touches them, not even when it would be quicker. The moment you let a convenient finger steal a key, you have two ways of typing that key, and a habit cannot form around two ways.

Middle fingers on D and K, index fingers still on F and J.

When you press D, the other three fingers of the left hand stay where they are. Beginners tend to lift the whole hand for each key, which throws the index finger off its bump and the next keystroke lands one key to the side. Keep the hand still and move only the finger. If that feels stiff, loosen the wrist a little rather than the fingers.