F minor chordson the mandolin
Main chords: Fm (i), E♭ (♭VII), D♭ (♭VI)
The scale: F G A♭ B♭ C D♭ E♭
Drones: No open course is in the Fm chord in this tuning; G fits the key. The courses are G D A E, low to high.
Capo 1: play it with E minor shapes, and every open course is in the key.
Common progressions
- i – ♭VII – ♭VI – ♭VII: Fm – E♭ – D♭ – E♭
- i – ♭VI – ♭VII – i: Fm – D♭ – E♭ – Fm
- i – iv – ♭VII – i: Fm – B♭m – E♭ – Fm (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).