Same-finger sequences

Most letter pairs are shared between two fingers, often between two hands, so they come out almost together: the second finger is already on its way while the first is still pressing. Some pairs, though, land on one and the same finger, and then there is nothing to overlap. The finger has to release the first key, travel to the second and only then press.

e and d    i and k    o and l

These are every typist's slowest spots, and usually the very places where a whole line stalls. It is easy to measure: “minimum” and “school” come out noticeably slower than words of the same length whose letters alternate between the hands.

One thing helps: move the finger, not the hand. When the hand follows along, the other fingers have to find their places again afterwards and one slow spot stretches into three.

Beyond a certain point these will not get any faster, and that is the right expectation. The goal is that they stop stalling, not that they match the rest.

Practise

• Left little finger
• Left ring finger
• Left middle finger
• Left index finger
• Right index finger
• Right middle finger
• Right ring finger
• Right little finger

The drill gives the pairs on their own, with no word around them. In real text you meet them inside words: “minimum”, “junior”, “united”, “school”.

Touch typing lessons

Introduction

• Where speed comes fromFast typing is not fast fingers but overlapping movements and learned sequences.

Home position

• The home rowEight keys the hand never has to leave. Every keystroke starts here, and the finger comes back here.
• Home row wordsThe first real words, typed without moving a single finger off the home row.
• The index finger keysG and H are the only home row letters that make an index finger step aside.

Letters

• The top rowThe finger goes up and slightly left, the hand stays where it is.
• The bottom rowThe most awkward of the three rows, and for that reason the one most worth drilling.
• The little finger keysThe little finger has the most keys and the least strength.
• All the letters togetherThree rows at once, in real words. This is where typing actually begins.
• Same-finger sequencesTwo letters with one and the same finger are the slowest thing in typing, and worth a drill of their own.
• One-handed wordsWords that come out entirely with one hand. This is where the weaker hand shows itself.
• Alternating handsWords where the hands change over after almost every letter. This is where the rhythm comes from.

Capitals, punctuation and digits

• Capital lettersA capital always uses the shift on the opposite hand. That is the whole rule.
• PunctuationA comma or a full stop is part of the word, not something beside it.
• DigitsThe digit row is far away and out of sight. The only thing that helps is the right column.

Speed and accuracy

• Frequent letter pairsSpeed comes from a pair becoming one movement, not from a single keystroke getting faster.
• Frequent wordsA couple of hundred words cover most of everything you will ever type. They are worth a drill of their own.
• An even rhythmAn even pace beats bursts and pauses, even when it feels slower.
• Accuracy before speedA wrong letter costs more than a slow one. In the game too.
• Whole sentencesCapital at the front, full stop at the end, and every part working at once.

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