Typing Training - Practice Free Typing Lessons with Online Tutor

The free typing lessons supply the complete "How to type" package. Animated keyboard layout and the typing tutor graphic hands are used to correct mis-typing by showing the right way to type for your learning and practice experience. Lessons' difficulty gradually raises as it starts from only 2 characters and ends with the entire keyboard. When the lesson ends, you can learn a lot from the practice trends: WPM, accuracy and errors distribution.

Tips for success:

  • When you practice typing - don't look at the keyboard - not even a quick peek! Look only at the screen.
  • The basic position can be easily found without looking at the keyboard - feel the bumps on 'F' and 'J'.
  • At first typing tutorials , practiced letters won't spell out words. As you get to know the keys, "real" words and sentences will be used. That is the only way to learn typing correctly.
  • Remember to type test your speed periodically. With our typing test you can check for both speed and accuracy progress. The number of words per minute indicates your typing level. If you are still unsatisfied with the results - go back to the typing tutors and keep practicing!

How To Type

Free typing lessons, typing practice and typing tests..

Octopus

Touch Typing Lessons

As you begin these typing lessons, remember to focus on accuracy. Aim for 100% accuracy and speed will come with practice. Touch typing is all about developing muscle memory through the consistent repetition of your finger movements. With practice, the movements will become natural and you will find yourself typing faster and with less effort.

Typing Lesson 1: The Home Row

The first principle of touch typing is to always return your fingers to the home row when you are not typing. The home row will be the reference point from which you will learn the positions of all the other keys. Most keyboards have small bumps on the f and j keys to help you find the home row without looking at the keys.

The Home Row Keys

The Right Hand

The home row keys for the right hand are: j k l ;

Right Hand Home Position

Position your right hand so that your index finger is placed on j , your middle finger is on k , your ring finger is on l and your pinky is on ; (the semicolon key). Let your right thumb rest comfortably on the spacebar at the bottom of the keyboard.

Your hand should be raised above the keyboard with your fingers curving down to point directly on the keys. This will make it easier for you to move your fingers without moving your hands. Take a moment to properly position your right hand before continuing. It is very important to develop good habits early in your typing practice.

Our first touch typing lesson introduces 2 home row keys for the right hand: j k

Now let's learn the other two keys: l ;

Great, let's put all four keys together: j k l ;

The Left Hand

The home row keys for the left hand are: f d s a

Left Hand Home Position

Position your left hand so that your index finger is on f , your middle finger is on d , your ring finger is on s and your pinky is on a . Your thumb can rest on the spacebar.

Check that your left hand is raised and your fingers are curved and pointed down at the keys.

We will begin with the first 2 left hand keys: f d

Now for the final 2 left hand keys: s a

And all four left hand keys together: f d s a

The following typing exercise combines all the keys we have learned so far: j k l ; f d s a

The keys we have covered so far can all be typed without moving your fingers from the home row position. Now it is time to learn how to move your fingers off the home row to reach the h and g keys. To reach these new keys, you will need to move your index fingers to the sides. Practice extending your right index finger to the left to hit the h key. Then try reaching to the right with your left index finger for the g key. Afterwards, always remember to return your fingers to the home keys.

Now all four index finger keys: j f h g

All Together

Congratulations! You have learned to type the home row and covered more than a third of the alphabet! Let's put everything together to solidify your new typing skills.

Feel free to repeat any of the exercises in this typing lesson. When you can complete them with nearly 100% accuracy you are ready to move on to the next lesson!

Next Lesson: The Top Row

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  • Principles for Effective Learning
  • No mistakes. Always be sure and in control. Follow the principle of 100% correct practice: to make a mistake is to learn incorrect things, and to confuse that which you already know.
  • Slower is faster. Speed comes from certainty. The more you type things correctly, no matter how slow it has to be, the more certain you will be, and the faster you will become a proficient typist. Increase speed only when you feel sure enough to do so.
  • Don't look at the keyboard! If you don't know where a key is, look at the keyboard to find it, then look away and type the key. Do not guess; always be sure.
  • Type to a steady rhythm. Generally, the time between keystrokes should be the same, giving you a sense of flow and the ability to scan ahead at a constant speed.
  • Relax. No unnecessary or dysfunctional tension. Enjoy the rhythm of your own typing!
  • Hit the keys squarely in the center. If you find you aren't consistently doing so, SLOW DOWN!!! It should feel good to type!

Instructions for Use

  • Press the "Click here to start" button, then type what you see on the screen. If you type correctly, the letter will turn to grey. If you err, it won't, and you will hear an error sound.
  • To do the same again (which you should do if you make ANY mistakes), press the "Go again!" button that appears when you finish.
  • Remember, shoot for no errors!! That is the most important thing right now. Speed means nothing; certainty and correctness are what's important.
  • For practical purposes, you can consider yourself having mastered an exercise only if you are able to type three reloaded screens of exercises in a row in under 60 seconds each, with no errors, confidently.

Technical Help

If you are accessing this course on the desktop or a laptop, Google Chrome (currently the most popular browser in the world) is the recommended browser for this site, and switching to it will likely solve any issues you may be experiencing. It is a free download , easy to install, and available for all platforms.

Other major browsers, such as Apple Safari , Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer should generally be ok, however please make sure you are using a current version. Older versions or other browsers may give inconsistent results.

Javascript is required for the typing functionality, so please ensure it is turned on in your browser preferences.

Some third-party extensions for web browsers, such as ad blockers, might interefere with the typing functionality. If you are using such an extension, turn it off temporarily and see if that is the cause. If so, it should be possible to whitelist this site so that the extension is turned off for this site only.

This course is not designed to be used with a soft keyboard on a tablet, although it has been successfully tested to work with iOS devices (iPad and iPhone). If you are on Android or a Windows Mobile device it is hit or miss, however it should work absolutely fine with an external keyboard. It is highly recommended to learn touch typing on a physical keyboard for the tactile feedback, and bluetooth keyboards can be obtained very inexpensively these days (i.e. as little as $10). This is a VERY worthwhile investment to learn touch typing, a skill which will last you a lifetime.

If you're still having problems, you can still access the old, Flash-based version of the course here .

Peter's Online Typing Course

Preliminaries.

  • Introduction and Overview
  • Typing Ergonomics
  • Which Fingers Go Where

Typing Lessons

  • Home Row, Left Hand
  • Home Row, Right Hand
  • Home Row, Left + Right
  • Home Row, Extended Index Fingers
  • The Shift Keys
  • Quotes and Apostrophe
  • Home Row: The Whole Shebang
  • Top Row Left: QWERT
  • Top Row Right: YUIOP
  • It's Lonely at the Top: All Top Row Letters
  • Row by Row: Top & Home Rows Combined
  • Bottom Row Right: NM,./?
  • Bottom Row Left: ZXCVB
  • Putting It All Together: Bottom Row
  • Letters Consolidation
  • Take a Break!
  • The Brackets
  • Numbers Row Left: 12345
  • Numbers Row Right: 67890
  • Putting It All Together: Numbers
  • Numbers Row Left + Shift: !@#$%
  • Numbers Row Right + Shift: ^&*()
  • Math Keys: -=_+
  • Programming Keys: ~`|\
  • Putting It All Together: Special Characters
  • Numbers Row + Special Characters
  • The Last Connection
  • The Backspace/Delete Key
  • Where to Go From Here

Typing Exercises

  • The Finger Upper-Downer
  • The Up & Down Home Hopper
  • The Up & Down Homeless Hopper
  • The Forefinger Hand-Off
  • The Big Zig
  • Do You Have My Number?
  • Math Key Pinky Buster
  • Speed Typing: The Most Common Words
  • The Shift Key Shuffle
  • Make Your Own Exercise!

Typing Practice

  • Business Typing
  • Computer Programming Typing
  • English Typing
  • Fairy Tales Typing
  • Geography Typing
  • Legal Typing
  • Math Typing
  • Medical Typing
  • Sports Typing

Musical Typing

  • All Letters
  • Numbers Row
  • Special Characters

Speed Typing

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Google+

Lesson 1: Home Row, Left Hand

Welcome to Lesson 1! First, a little orientation: at the top of every lesson you'll see a diagram of the keyboard that highlights in yellow the keys you will be working on. In subsequent keyboarding lessons the keys you have already learned but are not the focus of the lesson will be coloured green. It is vital that you will have mastered those keys before moving onto a new lesson. Mastery, for purposes of this course means that you can confidently and consistently type a lesson exercise in under 60 seconds with NO errors.

With that out of the way, here we go!

The home row is a key concept in typing (sorry for the pun!). It is that middle horizontal row of the keyboard that starts with A and goes all the way across. The idea behind the home row is that each finger remains in light contact with a particular key there when it is not typing in order to keep "grounded", providing a reference point for every other key. Here are the "home keys" for each of your 8 fingers:

If you have a relatively recent keyboard, it more than likey has some sort of bump you can feel on the F and J keys, where your index fingers go. This is of course to help you quickly find the home row when you're not looking at the keyboard.

Place your fingers gently on their respective keys now, light enough so that you are not actually pressing them! This is where your fingers "hang out" when they're not typing, and where they "spring" back to just after they have finished typing another key somewhere else. It is very important for your fingers to be able to go to these keys at any time, at a split second's notice. Practice taking your hands away and placing them on these keys several times, until you can do it confidently, and without looking.

The space bar is pressed with either thumb. Most people probably use only one thumb, the one on their dominant hand. The thumbs basically float comfortably in the air when not in use.

Below is your first interactive exercise based on the four left-hand home keys: ASDF. These are typed with the left-hand pinky, ring finger, middle finger and index finger respectively. Before typing even a single letter, please keep ALL of the Principles for Effective Learning in mind. Here are the instructions; all the exercises in all the lessons work this way, so read carefully:

Take a moment to tap your left hand fingers on your desk/table/thigh while saying the letters they will be typing (a, s, d, f), as in the above diagram. Do it forwards & backwards, and inside-out!

Sorry for the nonsense words to come, but there's only so much you can do with only 4 letters and the space bar! Make sure you are going slow enough to prevent mistakes. Be sure of every key; do not guess. And of course, don't look at the keyboard!

Click the orange button to begin the exercise, and start typing:

The interactive typing functionality requires JavaScript. Please enable JavaScript in your browser's preferences, and reload this page.

© 2004-2024 Peter Hudson . All rights reserved.   This page last updated: 22 February 2024   |   Privacy Policy

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  • Computer Keyboards

How to Use a Computer Keyboard

Last Updated: December 12, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido . Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 306,057 times.

When learning how to use a computer, properly using a keyboard plays a very large role. This is the main way you will be interacting with your computer, and you can perform a variety of functions using just the keyboard. First comes mastering the art of typing, a skill which can significantly enhance your productivity. See Step 1 below to get started.

Sitting at the Keyboard

Step 1 Sit with good posture.

  • Standing desks are growing increasingly popular, but an improper desk can promote bad posture. Your standing desk should be elbow-level or just slightly lower. Your monitor should be eye-level to keep you from hunching over, and should be around two feet from your eyes. [2] X Research source

Step 2 Center the keyboard.

  • Keep your wrists straight as you type. Twisting your wrists can cause discomfort and unnecessary stress.

Step 5 Relax your hands when you’re not typing.

Learning to Type

Step 1 Open a word processor.

  • Slightly arch your fingers and place your fingers on the keys next to F and J .
  • Your left pinky rests on A , your left ring finger on S , and your left middle finger on D
  • Your right pinky rests on ; , your right ring finger on L , and your right middle finger on K .
  • Your thumbs rest on the spacebar.

Step 3 Practice typing the home keys.

  • If you are keeping your wrists elevated, you will be able to easily strike the keys that are slightly outside of your reach.

Step 6 Practice typing basic sentences.

  • Symbols are located above each of the number keys that run along the top of the keyboard. You will need to have the ⇧ Shift key pressed in order to type them.

Step 8 Focus on accuracy over speed.

  • See this guide for more tips on learning how to type.

Step 9 Find a game or program to teach typing skills.

Using the Navigation Keys

Step 1 Move up, down, left, and right.

  • You can also press ← Backspace to go back on a webpage.

Step 5 Use Insert to toggle Insert mode.

Mastering the Numeric Pad

Step 1 Open the calculator program.

  • Some laptop keyboards do not have a separate numeric pad. They often need to be activated using the Fn key, which changes keyboard functions.

Step 3 Find the Home position.

Getting Familiar with Shortcuts

Step 1 Use Keyboard shortcuts.

  • Alt + Tab ↹ : Switch between windows
  • ⊞ Win + D : Minimize or restore all windows
  • Alt + F4 : Close active program or window
  • Ctrl + C : Copy selected item or text
  • Ctrl + X : Cut selected item or text
  • Ctrl + V : Paste copied item or text
  • ⊞ Win + E : Display Windows Explorer
  • ⊞ Win + F : Open the Search tool
  • ⊞ Win + R : Display Run dialog box
  • ⊞ Win + Pause : Display System Properties dialog box
  • ⊞ Win + L : Lock the workstation
  • ⊞ Win : Open the Start menu/Start screen
  • ⊞ Win + L : Switch Users
  • ⊞ Win + P : Change active display
  • Ctrl + ⇧ Shift + Escape : Task Manager

Step 2 Use word processor shortcuts.

  • Ctrl + A : Select all text
  • Ctrl + B : Bold selected text
  • Ctrl + I : Italicize selected text
  • Ctrl + S : Save document
  • Ctrl + P : Print
  • Ctrl + E : Center alignment
  • Ctrl + Z : Undo
  • Ctrl + N : Create new document
  • Ctrl + F : Find text in document

Step 1 Use Keyboard shortcuts.

  • ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Cmd + A : Open the Applications folder
  • ⌘ Cmd + C : Copy selected item/text to the Clipboard
  • ⌘ Cmd + X : Cut
  • ⌘ Cmd + V : Paste
  • ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Cmd + C : Open the Computer window
  • ⌘ Cmd + D : Duplicate selected item
  • ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Cmd + D : Open desktop folder
  • ⌘ Cmd + E : Eject
  • ⌘ Cmd + F : Find any matching Spotlight attribute
  • ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Cmd + F : Find Spotlight file name matches
  • ⌥ Option + ⌘ Cmd + F : Navigate to the search field in an already open Spotlight window
  • ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Cmd + G : Go to Folder
  • ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Cmd + H : Open the Home folder of the currently logged-in user account
  • ⌥ Option + ⌘ Cmd + M : Minimize all windows
  • ⌘ Cmd + N : New Finder window
  • ⇧ Shift + ⌘ Cmd + N : New folder
  • ⌥ Option + ⌘ Cmd + Esc Open the Force Quit window

Step 2 Use word processor shortcuts.

  • ⌘ Cmd + A : Select all text
  • ⌘ Cmd + B : Bold selected text
  • ⌘ Cmd + I : Italicize selected text
  • ⌘ Cmd + S : Save document
  • ⌘ Cmd + P : Print
  • ⌘ Cmd + E : Center alignment
  • ⌘ Cmd + Z : Undo
  • ⌘ Cmd + N : Create new document
  • ⌘ Cmd + F : Find text in document

Expert Q&A

Luigi Oppido

You Might Also Like

Clean a Keyboard

  • ↑ https://uhs.princeton.edu/health-resources/ergonomics-computer-use
  • ↑ https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/ergonomics/office/sit_stand_desk.html
  • ↑ https://uhs.umich.edu/computerergonomics
  • ↑ https://www.uow.edu.au/student/learning-co-op/technology-and-software/typing/
  • ↑ https://www.typingtest.com/practice.html
  • ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/wordxp/use-backspacedelete-and-undorepeat/1/
  • ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/using-your-keyboard-18b2efc1-9e32-ba5a-0896-676f9f3b994f
  • ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/keyboard-shortcuts-in-windows-dcc61a57-8ff0-cffe-9796-cb9706c75eec
  • ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/keyboard-shortcuts-in-word-95ef89dd-7142-4b50-afb2-f762f663ceb2
  • ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201236
  • ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/keyboard-shortcuts-in-word-95ef89dd-7142-4b50-afb2-f762f663ceb2#PickTab=macOS

About This Article

Luigi Oppido

To use your keyboard, hold down the shift key while pressing a letter to capitalize it. You can also hold down the shift key and press a number to use the symbol that’s on that key. In addition to using the shift key, you should use the arrow keys that are located on the bottom right of the keyboard to move the cursor in different directions. If you’re typing and want to move the cursor directly to the start or end of the line, try pressing the “Home” and “End” keys. To erase what you’ve just typed, simply press the backspace key once to delete a letter, or hold it down to erase as much as you like. To learn the keyboard shortcuts for different operating systems, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Basic Computer Skills  - Getting Started with Your First Computer

Basic computer skills  -, getting started with your first computer, basic computer skills getting started with your first computer.

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Basic Computer Skills: Getting Started with Your First Computer

Lesson 1: getting started with your first computer, getting started with your first computer.

A computer is more than just another household appliance. The vast amount of information and possibilities can be overwhelming. But you can accomplish a lot with a computer, and using one can be a good experience. Let's walk through getting started with your first computer.

Turning on a computer for the first time can be different from one computer to the next. Your experience could be different from this lesson. It's OK to ask someone for help.

Turning on a computer

The very first step is to turn on the computer. Make sure all the cables are plugged in correctly, and locate the power button. It's in a different place on every computer, but it will have the universal power button symbol (shown below).

Image of a power button icon

Once turned on, your computer takes time before it's ready to use. You may see a few different displays flash on the screen. This process is called booting up , and it can take anywhere from 15 seconds to several minutes.

Once the computer has booted up , it may be ready to use, or it may require you to log in . This means identifying yourself by typing your user name or selecting your profile, then typing your password. If you've never logged in to your computer before, you may need to create an account.

A login screen on a laptop computer

The keyboard and mouse

You interact with a computer mainly by using the keyboard and mouse, or a trackpad on laptops. Learning to use these devices is essential to learning to use a computer. Most people find it comfortable to place the keyboard on the desk directly in front of them and the mouse to one side of the keyboard.

Hands on keyboard positioned in front of a computer

The mouse controls the pointer on the screen. Whenever you move the mouse across the desk, the pointer will move in a similar manner. A mouse usually has two buttons, which are referred to as the left button and the right button. You will often interact with the computer by moving the mouse pointer over something on the computer screen, then clicking one of the buttons.

Hand on mouse controlling the pointer on the screen

On laptops, you can use the trackpad , located below the keyboard, instead of a mouse. Simply drag your finger across the trackpad to move the pointer on the screen. Some trackpads do not have buttons, so you'll either press or tap the trackpad to click.

Hand clicking the trackpad

The keyboard allows you to type letters, numbers, and words into the computer. Whenever you see a flashing vertical line—called the cursor —you can start typing.

Note that the mouse pointer is also called a cursor , but it is shaped differently. The keyboard cursor is also called the insertion point .

Using a computer

The main screen you'll start from is the desktop . This is sort of like a main menu or a table of contents. From here, you can access the programs and features you need to use your computer.

Icons are used to represent the different files, applications, and commands on your computer. An icon is a small image that's intended to give you an idea at a glance of what it represents, like a logo. Double-clicking an icon on the desktop will open that application or file.

Icons on a desktop

A button is a command that performs a specific function within an application. The most commonly used commands in a program will be represented by buttons.

Mouse cursor over a button

Menus are organized collections of commands and shortcuts. Click a menu to open it and display the commands and shortcuts within. Then click an item in the menu to execute it.

Mouse cursor over a menu

When you open an application or folder, it is displayed in its own window . A window is a contained area—like a picture within a picture—with its own menus and buttons specific to that program. You can rearrange multiple windows on the desktop and switch between them.

Multiple windows over a desktop

Additional resources

Now that you've learned how to turn on your computer and interact with it, take time to become familiar with these skills. When you're ready, check out our other topics to learn more. You can build on this foundation and learn how to do whatever you want with your computer.

Learn more about:

  • Buttons and ports on a computer
  • Setting up a computer
  • Mouse alternatives
  • The desktop

Other topics:

  • Mouse Tutorial
  • Computer Basics
  • Windows Basics
  • OS X Basics

Other resources:

  • BBC First Click Beginner's Guide
  • Beginner's Computer Class from City of Fremont, Nebraska

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typing lessons

Lesson 1: Learn F and J

Use your Index finger on both hands left and right and Place gently on their respective keys F and J . Start typing practice, Use your thumb to press Space Bar. It is very important for your fingers to be able to go to these keys at any time, at a split second's notice. Practice taking your hands away and placing them on these keys several times, until you can do it confidently, and without looking.

Type to Learn

Free Keyboarding Lesson Plans and Activities

  • Sunburst Digital Learning
  • March 17, 2023
  • Education & Resources

Keyboarding Lesson Plans and Typing Activities

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Below are a variety of free keyboarding resources, including some lesson plans, fun activities for all ages and more. Some of these resources may be useful as is, but they can also be inspiration for you to create your own fun activity to help teach keyboarding to your students.

A Clue for Keyboarding

This activity helps students identify and locate the keys on the keyboard through memory. This involves using index cards as flashcards and reinforcing the memory of a keyboard when not looking at one directly.

https://teachers.net/lessons/posts/1656.html

Body Keyboard

After you have gone over the keyboard layout and position of each letter with the students, assign each student to a letter, and even one to be the cursor. Then tell the students what word you want to type and those students move to the front of the room to spell that word, including the cursor. You can say “use backspace” and the cursor moves and the letter returns to their position. There are many ways to utilize this “body keyboard” idea.

https://teachers.net/lessons/posts/2494.html

For grades 5-8, after some keyboarding experience has been developed, you may want to try this activity, as it also involves internet research, creative writing, spelling and grammar. Each student will create an imaginary pen pal that they will write letters to back and forth. Start out small, with basic details such as age and location, but when writing as the pen pal, they should be writing as if they know details about where they live, so internet research is likely required.

https://teachers.net/lessons/posts/4037.html

A Fun Alternative Way to Teach Young Children The Keyboard

For K-2 students, these are a couple fun keyboarding lessons to get them familiar with the placement of letters on the keyboard. It involves creating a large keyboard to lay on the floor and introducing each letter and the finger that presses it. Then have the students “type” words by hopping on the letters on the floor.

http://www.nailitnow.com.au/lessonplans/childrenprint.html

Utah Curriculum Resources from the Utah Education Network

This list of resources are geared more towards older students with enough typing experience to be typing in their own responses in Word. They provide PDF files of the necessary instructions, worksheets, etc. There are speed and accuracy drills, technique resources and much more.

https://www.uen.org/lessonplan/resource/core/1214

Keyboarding Stuff by Tonya Skinner

Tonya Skinner is a certified technology teacher and these lesson plans are geared towards “business education”, so they may be best for older students. But there are free assignments, activities, exams, and much more to browse through.

http://lessonplans.btskinner.com/keybrd.html

Do you have a fun or unique lesson plan or activity you use to teach your students keyboarding? Share it with us! Let us know on Facebook or LinkedIn, or send us an email and we’ll share it ourselves, we’d love to hear from you!

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Keyboard Lessons for Beginners

Copley Sutton

If you’re new to the keyboard and want to learn how to play, these keyboard lessons for beginners set you out on the right foot. 

You don’t always need face-to-face lessons to learn a new skill. If learning to play the keyboard is on your bucket list, this article will be a dynamic way to start. These keyboard lessons for beginners include critical first steps and tips like practice habits, hand placement, and connecting notes to the keys. Let’s help you lay a good foundation for your keyboard journey.

Understanding the positions of keys.

Each note on a keyboard has a name–a letter between A and G–that you need to know by heart. Music sheets or charts tell you which notes to play using symbols and letters. 

A keyboard’s layout consists of a few sets of octaves. An octave constitutes seven white and five black keys:

  • White keys are whole notes.
  • Black keys are semitones higher or lower than the white ones they’re next to. 

There are two groups of black keys in an octave, one with two black keys and the other with three. These are flats and sharps, and we use ‘♭’ and ‘#’ respectively to refer to them in music notation. 

computer keyboard lessons for beginners part 1

There is a letter for each whole note in that set. Sheet music and chord charts tell you which of those notes to play. The faster you learn the name of each key, the quicker you can start reading music on a page.

An effective way to start is by labeling each key. Here’s how you figure out each one’s letter:

  • Look for a grouping of two black keys anywhere on the keyboard 
  • Find the white key to the left of these black keys
  • Label this key C
  • The first four keys to its right are D, E, F, and G
  • The next two are A and B
  • Then you start from C again 

computer keyboard lessons for beginners part 1

So, you can quickly identify any C note by simply looking for a group of two black keys and playing the white key to the left.

The notes to your right get higher in pitch, while you’ll find the pitch gets lower to your left. After labeling all the notes, you’ll see a C more or less in the center of the piano. This is middle C. 

Learning chords.

Playing music also requires an understanding of scales and chords.

Scales are sequences of notes that explore the tonality of a key. Each note is either a whole or a half step up from the previous one. You’ll find major scales most commonly in music. They are as follows:

  • A major: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A
  • B major: B, C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A#, B
  • C major: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C
  • D major: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D
  • E major: E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#, E
  • F major: F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F
  • G major: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G

You play a chord when you push down two or more notes simultaneously. In most cases, a chord consists of three notes–a triad. The three notes in a chord are the:

  • Root note –the first note in the scale, giving the chord its name
  • Third note –the third note in the scale (for major chords)
  • Fifth note –the fifth note of the scale

There are different types of chords, with rules that stipulate how one should create the chords in that set. Common types include the major chords and the minor chords. The latter is simply changing the third of the chord by one half-step or a semitone.

Based on these rules, here’s a summary of major and minor chords you’ll use most often.

computer keyboard lessons for beginners part 1

A chord sheet tells you which chords to play, or you can see a visual representation of what to play when playing from a musical staff on sheet music. Often, you’ll play a chord with your left hand while playing a melody with your right. 

Practicing hand and finger position on a keyboard.

Knowing how to place your hands over the keys is as important as understanding music theory. When correct placement becomes a habit, you advance quicker in learning to play the keyboard. 

For one thing, your hands are in the right position to reach notes far from each other. Also, many sheet music and chord sheets include guidelines about which fingers to use, so you need to understand what they refer to. 

First, place your hands palms-down in front of you. Starting at your thumbs and moving outward, number each finger from one to five. Now you know which fingers a keyboard exercise or sheet music refers to. 

Part of keyboard exercises is to help you become comfortable pushing down the keys. Here are a few exercises.

computer keyboard lessons for beginners part 1

With your hands on the piano, put your right thumb on middle C and label it number one. Now play C, D with finger two, E with finger three, and continue up to five. Vocalize which note you’re playing each time you press down to start memorizing their names. 

Now play the sequence backward until you reach middle C again. Do the same with your left hand, playing downwards towards the lower tones and back to middle C.

You can continue practicing by moving your right hand one key to the right, so your thumb rests on D. Using the list of scales above, play the first five notes in that sequence. You’re playing a part of a scale! 

Now do the same with each note in the octave.

Do the same with the left hand; as you feel more comfortable, you can do the exercise at a higher tempo. But don’t rush too much–you need to ensure proper form at all times:

  • Curve your fingers
  • Relax your wrist
  • Line up your pinkies with wrists and elbows
  • Relax your shoulders

Practicing scales is also essential as part of piano lessons for beginners. Once again, play the entire sequence using the list of scales above.

For the C major scale, from C to C, use the following fingers, with the thumb going underneath the other fingers to play the fourth note in the sequence:

1 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

Do this going forwards and backward on both hands. This is how you improve speed, get to know your scales, and improve the independence of your two hands. 

Practice coordination between your left and right hand.

Part of becoming a great keyboard player is having your left and right hand do entirely different actions. They need to function independently of each other. 

Start practicing this by playing your C major scale using both hands, but in opposite directions. Your right hand moves up the keys, and your left hand goes down before returning to middle C.

computer keyboard lessons for beginners part 1

After you feel comfortable doing this, play the scale with both hands moving in the same direction:

  • Your right thumb starts on middle C, while your left pinky starts on an octave lower
  • The right hand plays the scale as usual
  • The finger sequence for your left hand will be 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 3 – 2 – 1, ending with the left thumb on middle C
  • Then, do everything in reverse 

For more exercises, you can use our article on the Best Piano Books for Beginners to find some excellent keyboard piano lessons for beginners to practice both hands. 

A keyboard is a versatile instrument, and if you’re not sure yet which one to buy, our article on the Best Keyboard Piano for Beginners will be a great help. We cover more keyboard basics for beginners and review a few keyboard models. 

Do you have any other questions to get your keyboard career started? Please leave a comment!

First, you need a keyboard because you must be able to practice what you learn and become familiar with the instrument. Learn which keys represent notes from A to G, including sharps and flats. Regularly practice playing scales and focus on maintaining the correct posture and position of hands and arms. 

You need to be familiar with playing your instrument. To learn to play, label your keys, implement finger numbering, and learn the proper hand positions. Then discover the C-major scale and practice until you can play it without looking at or thinking about the numbers or labels. 

Playing the piano is a difficult skill to acquire, but your level of commitment to practicing determines how hard it is for you. If you don’t practice enough, you won’t become familiar with hand positions, key labels, and other vital factors. Daily practice ensures faster progress, and many aspects become easier. 

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