C minor chordson the mandolin
Main chords: Cm (i), B♭ (♭VII), A♭ (♭VI)
The scale: C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭
Drones: Open G rings in C minor; D fits the key too. The courses are G D A E, low to high.
Capo 1: play it with B minor shapes, and every open course is in the key.
Common progressions
- i – ♭VII – ♭VI – ♭VII: Cm – B♭ – A♭ – B♭
- i – ♭VI – ♭VII – i: Cm – A♭ – B♭ – Cm
- i – iv – ♭VII – i: Cm – Fm – B♭ – Cm (with the minor iv)
Basis: The Chiff & Fipple forum and common session practice: aeolian tunes lean on ♭VI and ♭VII (Em-D-C, Bm-G-A).