Typing for Beginners: Understanding Finger Placement, Part 1

Hello there. Mr. Underwear at your service.

And I'm Takeshi.

Hold up. What exactly is touch typing?

It's typing without looking at the keyboard, often referred to as "touch typing."

Got it.

Let's start by getting familiar with the term "home position."

Notice the bumps on the 'F' and 'J' keys? Placing your index fingers there sets you in the home position.

I see.

And you'll return your fingers to this home position with each keystroke, holding it sacred as Mario does Princess Peach – instinctively and unwaveringly.

However, it turns out you don't always need to stick strictly to this home position.

What do you mean?

Well, it means you can develop your own unique home position. It's odd to think everyone should share the same position when our fingers' lengths and strengths differ. If you already have a comfortable position, then that's perfectly fine.

An elite typist once said, 'I've always typed in a way that felt natural since the beginning. I never bothered with the traditional home position.' They found what works best for them.

For instance, this is my home position.

Uh, that looks weird.

It's carefully thought out, though.

Hmm, I don't quite get it.

That's okay. You can start with the standard home position (ASDF JKL;) and then modify it if you want to go hardcore into typing. Like in sports, where tweaking your form can lead to improvements, the same goes for typing. It's fun to experiment and find your optimal form. I'll cover more on this in future articles for advanced typers.

Mr. Underwear, you're kinda weird.