Week 3: Top row: middle and index fingers

Once the home row feels comfortable, it is time to move up to the top row. This row sits just above the home row, and many common letters live there. This week your middle and index fingers learn to reach upward without losing their place. The most important rule is to keep each reach small.

What you will learn

This week introduces four new keys:

• e: left middle finger
• i: right middle finger
• r: left index finger
• u: right index finger

Your left middle finger reaches up from d to e. Your right middle finger reaches up from k to i. Your index fingers move up and slightly sideways from f and j to reach r and u.

Technique tips

• When you reach up, move only the finger, not the whole hand. Your hand should stay over the home row.
• After pressing an upper key, bring the finger straight back down to its home key. Staying up slows down the next letter.
• While one finger reaches, the neighboring fingers should stay resting on their keys. Lifting them is the most common cause of errors.
• Keep looking at the screen. Feel the movement of your fingers instead of searching for the keys with your eyes.

Lessons

1. Lesson 1, learn (10–15 minutes): Watch the keyboard demo for e, i, r and u. Press each key with its finger, then return to the home row.
2. Lesson 2, practice (10–15 minutes): Type short words that combine the new keys with the home row. Keep every letter clean.
3. Lesson 3, review (10–15 minutes): Repeat the keys you find hardest, then finish with the 2-minute test.

This week’s goal

Reach 12 WPM and 91% accuracy. Finishing the lessons earns 1 star. Reaching 91% accuracy earns 2 stars. Reaching 12 WPM as well earns 3 stars. Wrong keys are easy to hit on the top row, so put accuracy first. Speed usually follows once your reaches become automatic.