Learning the Home Row

What the home row is

The home row is the middle row of letter keys. On a standard QWERTY keyboard it contains A S D F G H J K L and ;. It is called the home row because your fingers rest there and return there after reaching for other keys. Every other key is reached from this base, so a reliable home position is the most important habit in touch typing.

The F and J reference keys

Look closely at F and J. On most keyboards they have a small raised bump or line. These bumps let you find the home position by touch alone. Your left index finger rests on F and your right index finger rests on J. Once your index fingers are in place, the other fingers fall naturally onto the neighbouring keys.

Left-hand and right-hand positions

Left hand

• Little finger on A
• Ring finger on S
• Middle finger on D
• Index finger on F (it also reaches across to G)

Right hand

• Index finger on J (it also reaches across to H)
• Middle finger on K
• Ring finger on L
• Little finger on ;

Both thumbs rest lightly on the space bar. Most people use whichever thumb feels natural for spaces.

Returning to the home position

After each reach, the finger that moved should come straight back to its home key. This feels slow at first, but it is what makes touch typing work: if your fingers always start from the same place, the distance to every key is always the same, and your hands can learn it. If you lose your place, feel for the bumps on F and J and reset.

Practice exercises

These drills use only home-row keys. Keep your fingers resting on the row, look at the screen and press each key with the correct finger. Use your thumb for spaces.

Common positioning mistakes

When the home row feels comfortable, continue to Lesson 3 to learn which finger reaches each of the other keys, or take a short typing test to see how it feels in full sentences.