Touch typing lesson 1: f, d, j, k

Keys and finger movements

Keyboard layout: English US.

Find the two home-row keys for your index fingers by touch. Place the middle fingers on the neighboring keys and practice without lifting your whole hand for each letter.

• Left index finger: Place it on F.
• Right index finger: Place it on J.
• Left middle finger: Place it on D.
• Right middle finger: Place it on K.

Keyboard home row

The keyboard base row, often called the "home row," is a crucial element in touch typing. The home row is the middle of the three main letter rows on the keyboard. In the US QWERTY keyboard layout, the home row contains the keys A, S, D, F, J, K, L, and the semicolon (;). In touch typing, you should place your fingers on these keys as the starting position, with the left-hand fingers resting on A, S, D, and F, and the right-hand fingers on J, K, L, and the semicolon (;).

The F and J keys, where you place your index fingers, have raised marks that make it easier to find the home position without looking at the keyboard. From this starting position, your fingers can easily reach neighboring keys, allowing you to type smoothly and accurately. Learning to place your fingers on the keyboard home row is fundamental to improving typing speed and reducing errors while touch typing.

Lift your hands once, then find the index-finger marks again without looking. These are finger starting points, not every key in the home row.