FoundationsLesson 9 of 30 · Reaching up
T and Y: the long reach
The index fingers stretch up and inward. This is the longest reach on the letter rows, and the one that most often drags the hand along.
- New keys
- TY
- To pass
- Done when the check reaches 92% accuracy and 11 words a minute.
Lesson 9 is locked
It opens when you pass the check in lesson 8 (R and U: index fingers up). Lessons open one at a time, in order.
T and Y sit in the top row between R and U, and like G and H they belong to the index fingers. The reach is up and inward at the same time: from F the left index goes up and one key to the right for T, and from J the right index goes up and one key to the left for Y. It is the longest reach on the three letter rows, and it is the one most likely to pull the whole hand with it. Keep the hand still and let the index finger stretch. It can reach further than you think.
T is the second most common letter in English, and the word the alone accounts for a startling share of all typed text, so this reach will be made constantly. It is worth getting right now rather than fast now. When you type the, feel it as one movement: left index up to T, right index in to H, left middle up to E. Three fingers, three keys, no hand movement at all.
Y is much less common than T, and its main job on the right hand is to end words like easy, tidy and study. Because it is a stretch, the right little finger sometimes tries to help by rotating the hand. Do not let it. The index finger reaches, the rest of the hand stays.
the they that this start study easy yes tea test