Every reach so far has been upward. This lesson adds the opposite movement, and it uses a different mechanic: you curl the finger down and in, rather than extending it out.
The new keys
- C — left middle finger, one row down from
D. - G — left index finger, one column right from
F. A sideways reach, not a vertical one. - N — right index finger, one row down from
J.
G is the odd one out. It sits in the middle column that neither hand rests on, and the left index finger stretches right to cover it. The same applies to H on the other side, which arrives in the next lesson.
Curl, do not stretch
The bottom row is closer to your palm than the home row, so reaching it is a curling motion. If you find yourself dropping your whole wrist to reach C or N, the wrist is too low to begin with. Your forearms should be roughly level with the keyboard, wrists floating rather than resting on the desk edge.
Resting your wrists is the most common cause of bottom-row inaccuracy, and over long sessions it is also the most common cause of discomfort.
The awkward one
G catches almost everyone out. Because it is a horizontal stretch, the left hand tends to shift right to meet it and then stays there, throwing off the next few keystrokes. Keep the left little finger anchored near A as a reference — if it moves, the hand has travelled.
Practice notes
Type c and n in isolation first until the downward curl feels natural, then work on g. Words mixing the bottom row with home-row keys are deliberately harder than what you have typed so far — expect your speed to drop in this lesson and do not let that tempt you into looking down.