ShmoopTube

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[Dino and Coop singing]

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You're probably pretty familiar with the fine art of typing. [Guy typing]

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After all, you probably spent more time with laptops than rattles as a wee babe.

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And fair enough: computers do have better graphics than any rattle we've ever seen. [Baby playing on a computer]

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But on the off chance you need a refresher, or you're about to enter a Super Speedy Typing [Guy furiously typing]

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competition…we've got your back.

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One of the most important things when it comes to typing well has less to do with how fast

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your fingers move…

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…and more to do with where your fingers are when they aren't moving at all.

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Man, don't you love it when an important part of doing something well is doing…well… [Guy looks exhausted]

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nothing? [Coop and Dino look surprised]

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Anyway, in proper typing technique, we have something called the "home" position:

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put your left index finger on the "F" key…

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…and let the other three fingers fall on the keys just to the left of "F": "D," "S,"

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and "A."

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We do something similar with the right hand, putting the right index finger on the "J" key… [Hands show the correct position]

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…and the other three fingers on the keys just to the right of "J": "K," "L," and the

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semicolon key.

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As for your thumbs, they stay right over the space bar.

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This home position is the base from which they launch periodic attacks on letter keys. [Fingers shooting at letter keys]

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Of course, don't attack too hard; you're gonna want to use those keys again and again, so [A finger jumps on a key and pushes it]

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play nice!

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Now, with your fingers in the home position, practice typing all the different keys, using

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nearby fingers to hit nearby keys.

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For example, if you want to hit the "A" key, you could either use your left pinky, or left

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ring finger…which ever one feels best!

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But if you try and use your right thumb, you might end up looking pretty foolish. [The two hands on top of each other]

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Once you've started to get the hang of which fingers should be hitting which key, you can

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practice typing without looking down at the keyboard at all.

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This is called touch-typing!

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And be sure to focus on accuracy rather than speed.

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You can be the fastest typist in the whole ding-dong West, but you won't impress anyone [Guy dressed as a cowboy]

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if they can't read a ding-dong word you typed!

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…sorry, we just liked saying, "ding-dong." [Guy types quickly but spells everything wrong]

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And if you still don't believe us, think of it this way: if you're learning to swim, it's

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better to learn to swim well rather than how to swim fast. [Guy swimming properly next to a guy that is flailing around]

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You won't win any medals for being the fastest swimmer who …y'know…drowned.

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Once you've mastered touch-typing from the home position, you'll be even better at typing

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than you already were.

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Getting better at playing with a rattle, though, that's a completely different ding-dong lesson altogether. [Guy is confused by a rattle]

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