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Where speed comes from

Fast typing is not about fast fingers. A single keystroke takes about the same time for everyone and practice barely changes it. Three other things do change, and most of the rest of the course is built around those three.

First, movements overlap. When the next letter belongs to the other hand or another finger, that finger can already be on its way while the previous one is still pressing. Two movements run partly at the same time, and the time you gain comes from that overlap. This is why words where the hands alternate are quick to type and same-finger sequences are slow: in the latter there is nothing to overlap.

Second, learned sequences. An experienced typist does not think about single letters, much as a musician does not think about single notes. The hand produces frequent letter pairs and whole short words as one learned movement. That is why letter pairs and frequent words give you more than practising individual letters: what you learn is not a faster press but a sequence you no longer have to assemble.

Third, where you look. Every time the eyes travel from the screen to the keyboard and back, time is lost and so is your place. That is the whole point of touch typing: you never have to search for a key. With the hands on the home row, every letter is always in the same place relative to the hand, and the finger finds it without looking.

Mistakes cost more than slowness. Fixing a mistake takes several times longer than typing the letter correctly, because it has to be noticed and deleted, and then you have to find your place again. Accuracy is therefore a precondition of speed, not its opposite.

What to expect. At first, speed grows quickly, then it levels off for a long while, and that is normal: the hand is busy learning sequences the clock cannot show yet. The gains come from short regular sessions rather than one long evening. And the biggest gains go to whoever sticks to the correct fingering even when a wrong finger would be quicker in the moment.

If you are starting from scratch, begin at the home row and work down the list in order. If you already type and want to get faster, the most useful ones are same-finger sequences, letter pairs and frequent words. The rest of the lessons are listed below.

Touch typing lessons

Introduction

• Where speed comes fromFast typing is not about fast fingers but about 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 extra 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 to the key above its home key, 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 typed with one and the same finger are the slowest thing in typing, and worth a drill of their own.
• One-handed wordsWords typed entirely with one hand. This is where the weaker hand shows itself.
• Alternating handsWords where the hands change over after every letter. This is where the rhythm comes from.

Capitals, punctuation and digits

• Capital lettersA capital always uses the Shift key 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 number row is far away and you cannot see it without looking down. The only thing that helps is a fixed finger for every digit.

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 a large part of what 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 sentencesA capital at the start, a full stop at the end, and everything you have learned put to work at once.

Touch typing