Learn touch typing free, starting with two keys
A graded course that begins with your index fingers on F and J and ends with full paragraphs, numbers and code. It tracks your speed, accuracy and daily streak, and awards grades as you go.
The small numbers are fingerings, as in a piano method book: 2 is your index finger, 5 your pinky. Colours show which finger owns each key.
How the course works
- Two new keys per lesson. You only ever type keys you have already been taught, so there is nothing to hunt for and no reason to look down.
- Stars for accuracy first. A lesson needs 90% accuracy for one star; speed targets unlock the second and third. You move on when your hands are ready, not when a timer says so.
- XP, grades and streaks. Every correct keystroke earns XP towards ten grades, from First keys to Master. Practising on consecutive days builds your streak.
- Practice where you are weak. The course records which keys you miss and builds drills around them in free practice.
The syllabus: 7 units, 37 lessons
Units 1 to 3 teach every letter, row by row. Unit 4 adds capitals and punctuation, Unit 5 the number row and symbols, Unit 6 builds real-world fluency, and Unit 7 covers the numeric keypad for data entry.
Unit 1: The home row
Anchor both hands on A S D F and J K L ; and learn the eight keys every other key is reached from.
Unit 2: The top row
Reach up from home for E, I, R, U and the rest of Q–P, then come straight back.
Unit 3: The bottom row
Curl down for C, M, V, N and friends. After this unit you can type every letter.
Unit 4: Capitals and punctuation
Use the opposite-hand Shift, and add full stops, commas, apostrophes and question marks.
Unit 5: Numbers and symbols
The longest reaches on the board: digits, then the shifted symbols above them.
Unit 6: Fluency
Stop thinking in letters. Common words, real sentences and whole paragraphs build speed.
Unit 7: Numeric keypad
Ten-key data entry on the number pad, anchored on 4 5 6.
Why learn to touch type?
Touch typing means typing with all ten fingers without looking at the keyboard. Each finger owns a small set of keys and returns to the home row after every stroke. The payoff is less about raw speed than attention: when your hands know the keyboard, your eyes and your thinking stay on the words.
Most self-taught "hunt and peck" typists plateau somewhere around 30 to 40 words per minute. Trained touch typists commonly reach 50 to 70, and keep improving, because every key is always reached the same way. Read more in what touch typing is and what counts as a good typing speed.
Beginner guides
- Home row keys: why eight keys anchor everything, with a drift demo.
- Keyboard finger placement chart: tap a finger to see the keys it owns.
- How to type faster: the habits that actually move your WPM.
- QWERTY vs Dvorak: paste your own text and compare finger travel.
Questions beginners ask
Is TypeMaster Academy really free?
Yes. Every lesson, the practice modes, the typing test, the game and progress tracking are free, with no account and no sign-up. Progress is saved in your own browser.
How long does it take to learn touch typing?
Most beginners can type every letter without looking after roughly 10 to 20 hours of practice spread over a few weeks. Short daily sessions of 10 to 15 minutes work better than occasional long ones.
Where should a complete beginner start?
Start at Lesson 1 (F and J). The course introduces two keys at a time from the home row outwards, so you never have to look for a key you have not been taught.
Do I need a special keyboard?
No. Any standard US QWERTY keyboard works, including laptop keyboards. The lessons are built for a physical keyboard; phone and tablet screen keyboards are fine for reading the guides but not for touch typing practice.
How are WPM and accuracy measured?
One "word" is counted as five characters, including spaces. WPM is correct characters divided by five, divided by minutes. Accuracy is the share of your keystrokes that were correct, so mistakes you later fixed still count against it.