Typing Lessons: The Keys

     CATEGORIES:

     * The Home Row

     * The First Letter Row

     * The Third Row

     * The Number row

     * The Number Pad

The Home Row

The Home Row of the keyboard is the most important to the touch-typist.

When at rest the typist's fingers are positioned, lightly, on the A ,S ,D ,F keys for the left hand, and the J, K, L, ; keys for the right hand.

The left index finger will control the F and G keys, the right index finger will control the J and H keys.

* The left index finger will control the R and T keys, the right index finger will control the Y and U keys.

* The left middle finger will control the E key, the right middle finger will control the I key.

* The left ring finger will control the W key, the right ring finger will control the O key.

* The left little finger will control the Q key, the right little finger will control the P key.


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The Third Row

The Third Row of the keyboard is a celebrity in our midst. The Q-W-E-R-T-Y row.

The keys of early typewriters were, sensibly enough, laid out in alphabetical order. The impetus for change was not exactly the yearning for blistering speed that has brought us together here today, but rather necessity. Early typewriters were mechanical and prone to jamming. The QWERTY layout solved that problem by spreading the popular keys across the board, inadvertently creating an ideal layout for distributing the effort of typing to all ten fingers rather than the traditional hunt and peck method. Progress and fate hand in hand once more.

At the end of the previous Lesson we touched on Capital letters. In this lesson we will expand on it and review the bottom letter row.


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The First Letter Row

Your Keyboard should have two Shift Keys, one to the left, one to the right. The proficient typist will use the little finger of their inactive hand to operate one of the Shift keys when capitals are required.

The bottom letter row of the keyboard, the Z-X-C-V-B row cannot claim the relevant importance in the pursuit of touch typing of the Home Row. Nor can it contest the international fame or high profile of the hard working QWERTY row. But there is one way in which it can surpass them both. Once you have mastered the bottom row you will have learned all the alpha keys on the keyboard and the most popular punctuation keys.

So, if you are to type a capital R, you will strike the R key with the index finger of your left hand whilst depressing the Shift key with the little finger of your right hand. A team game for the opposing forces of left and right.

* The left index finger will control the V and B keys, and the right index finger will control the N and M keys.

* The left middle finger will control the C key, and the right middle finger will control the, key.

* The left ring finger will control the X key, and the right ring finger will control the . key.

* The left little finger will control the Z key, and the right little finger will control the / key.

* The left Shift key is controlled by the left little finger and the right Shift key is controlled by the right little finger.


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The Number Row

In our first three Lessons we covered the first three letter rows of the keyboard. This being our fourth lesson, we shall, in keeping with custom, cover the fourth row. The Number Row.

The left index finger will control the 4 and 5 keys, the right index finger will control the 6 and 7 keys.

The left middle finger will control the 3 key, the right middle finger will control the 8 key.

The left ring finger will control the 2 key, the right ring finger will control the 9 key.

The left little finger will control the 1 key, the right little finger will control the 0 key.

The Number Row presents a unique challenge to the typist. It is the furthest from the typist's finger's resting position, the home row. These exercises will attempt to accustom you to the range of movement your fingers must achieve when dealing with a mixture of alpha-numeric keystrokes.

We shall also, in this lesson, build on our use of the shift keys and capital letters introduced in the last lesson. To test your geography, and because we felt the pun too fine to overlook we shall make extensive use of capitals, in our practice of, capitals.

While your fingers hone their skills you can also dream a little as names of far flung places evoke memory and imagination. What wonders these places may hold, what customs its people practice and what mysteries you might there unravel.


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The Number Pad

The Number Pad keys are arranged in four columns and five rows.

When at rest the fingers of the typist's Right Hand are positioned, lightly, on the 4 - 5 - 6 - + keys. The 5 key often has a small raised bump on its top, a tactile aid for the typist.


* The right index finger will control the Num Lock - 7 - 4 - 1 keys.

* The right middle finger will control the / - 8 - 5 - 2 keys.

* The right ring finger will control the * - 9 - 6 - 3 - . keys.

* The right little finger will control the - - + - Enter keys.

* The 0 is controlled by the right thumb.

LF = Little Finger, RF = Ring Finger, MF = Middle Finger, IF = Index Finger



The locations of all the other keys on the number pad are learnt in relation to this home key so the touch-typist must be able to locate the home key by touch.

Using the raised bump on the 5 key as a guide, see if you can correctly place your fingers on the 4-5-6-+ keys without looking at the keyboard. No peeking.


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