Week 5: Top row: pinkies

The two ends of the top row belong to your pinkies. This week your left pinky covers q, and your right pinky covers p along with the square brackets. Pinkies are the weakest fingers, so this week is about control rather than force. Press each key with a light, clear touch.

What you will learn

This week introduces four new keys:

• q: left pinky
• p: right pinky
• [: right pinky (with Shift it types {)
• ]: right pinky (with Shift it types })

Your left pinky reaches up from a to q. Your right pinky reaches up from ; to p, then one key further right to the brackets. The brackets are the outermost keys on the top row, so this reach is the longest one you have made so far.

Technique tips

• Lift the pinky from its knuckle and keep the hand steady. Do not raise your wrist to make the reach.
• For [ and ], move the right pinky along the same curve as p, without pulling the whole hand to the right.
• Return the pinky to its home key after every press. The home row is always the place to come back to.
• If your pinky feels weak, press with a light touch rather than a hard push. Hard presses cause more mistakes.

Lessons

1. Lesson 1, learn (10–15 minutes): Watch the keyboard demo for q, p, [ and ]. Press each key with the correct pinky, then return to the home row.
2. Lesson 2, practice (10–15 minutes): Type short words that include the new keys, and try a few Shift combinations with the brackets.
3. Lesson 3, review (10–15 minutes): Repeat the keys that give you trouble, then finish with the 2-minute test.

This week’s goal

Reach 16 WPM and 92% accuracy. Finishing the lessons earns 1 star. Reaching 92% accuracy earns 2 stars. Reaching 16 WPM as well earns 3 stars. Pinkies develop slowly, so short daily practice works better than one long session. Accuracy is the first target to reach.