Where the fingers go for any key, high fingers and low Double stopping →
Choose a key
The fingerboard
Finger patterns how close the fingers sit on each string
A long line is a whole tone, with a gap between the fingers; fingers drawn together are a semitone apart and touch on the string.
The scale tap a note to hear it
Reading it
The fingerboard is drawn as you look down at it while playing: G string on the left, E string on the right, the nut at the top. The faint lines are where beginners' finger tapes usually go.
0 is the open string. Fingers are numbered from the first finger (the index finger) to the fourth (the little finger).
Low and high mean the same finger moved back towards the nut or forward towards the bridge by a semitone. A low 2 sits right against the first finger; a high 2 sits right against the third. Knowing which you need in each key is most of the battle on the fiddle.
In first position the fourth finger plays the same note as the next open string. Use either: the open string rings more, the fourth finger lets you add vibrato and avoids crossing strings.
In other positions the whole hand moves up the neck: in third position the first finger goes where the third finger was.