I'm a pinky only planter

I yam what I yam

I don't worry about how someone else plays...I'm too busy with my own playing.

I finally remembered to check while I'm playing and found out that I do both, sometimes just the pinkie, sometimes both the pinkie and the ring finger. It just depends I guess. I had never given it a thought before now.

I cant remember where I read this but a teacher said that in general having two fingers down is a good idea...BUT, he went on to say that there are some people whose ring finger is considerably longer than their pinky and for them just planting the ring finger or pinky is perfectly ok as long as they are able to do it with stability...really helped me

The thing that annoys me about insisting on a 2-finger plant is that for many, it’s physically impossible and it’s just one more thing that could turn off a beginner and cause them to give up.
Learning banjo is hard enough without insisting on unnecessary rules.

I have enough other things to think about.

quote:

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

The thing that annoys me about insisting on a 2-finger plant is that for many, it’s physically impossible and it’s just one more thing that could turn off a beginner and cause them to give up.
Learning banjo is hard enough without insisting on unnecessary rules.

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When I was young(er) and knew less about such things than I do now, I used double-sided tape to affix a small 3/8" thick foam donut to "make up for" the pinkie being short(er).  After a couple of weeks I sliced it to about half that thickness and then removed it altogether after a couple of more weeks.  The physical adaptation was seamless, but I say with mucho confidence that it did d-ddly-squat in helping me "figure out" things. 

You could also try duct taping your fingers to the head, or super glue. Sometimes I like to plant all four fingers on the head.
Solid ? - you bet!

Even though it's so very long ago, I can remember reading in the Scruggs book that both ring and pinky of the picking hand should rest on the head to provide support. My ring finger is very much longer than my pinky, and I immediately realized that trying to plant both would be a problem. I chose to plant only the ring finger and allow the pinky to 'float'. Never caused me a problem in all these years of playing. Plant what's comfortable and natural for you and ignore the 'rules'.