I spent 20 hours over the last six days watching a cellist play mostly classical music in a string trio. She used the 4th finger of her left hand a lot, but she also made a lot of use of her 3rd fingernot just as a helper to her fourth finger, but as a note player in its own right. My question is: Does this have something to do with the cello being tuned in 5ths, low-to-high? Or is it simply because her string scale is that much shorter?
Cello has about the same scale length as a classical guitar, so guitar-style 1-2-3-4 fingering is logical and easy.
BTW, check out this one-minute youtube video and see if you are asking yourself (as I was): "Who is playing that blazing-fast melody line?" If you're still mystified by the time the piece is over, the other two give it away. The Inspiration String Trio - YouTube