Home row: putting it together

This lesson teaches no new keys. Its job is to make the ten you have solid before the next row arrives, because everything above and below is reached from here, and a shaky home row makes every reach land somewhere slightly wrong. Treat it as a checkpoint. If any single key still makes you think, that is the one to spend a minute on before moving on.

At the end of this lesson you will meet the Weak Spot Drill for the first time. Every drill you type is analysed for which keys and which pairs of keys you miss or hesitate on, and at the end of each unit that data is turned into a short drill made of words that lean on exactly those keys. It is built from your typing, not from a fixed list, so two learners at the same point get different drills. If you have made almost no errors so far, it will say so and give you a general drill instead.

• Index fingers: F and J at rest, G and H by reaching inward.
• Middle fingers: D and K. Ring fingers: S and L.
• Little fingers: A and the semicolon.
• Thumb: the space bar, always the same thumb.

The check at the end of this lesson is the first one with a speed target as well as an accuracy target. It is set low on purpose. Ten words a minute is a comfortable pace at which you can still think about each finger. If you are already faster, good; do not push. The habits you are protecting right now are worth more than any number.