To build a chord you must know the root note and the chord spelling. The root note is one of the twelve basic notes in the chromatic scale, an example would be 'C'. A chord spelling is a sequence of degrees that describe what notes to use in the chord. An example would be the Major chord spelling. The major chord spelling is made up of the first, third and fifth degrees.

If we want to complete the example of the C Major chord we need to use the key of C:

From the key of C we select the first ( C ), third ( E ) and fifth ( G ) degrees. Thus the C Major chord includes the notes C, E and G.

In addition to specifying the degrees of the notes in the chord, the chord spelling can also include sharps or flats. For example, the Minor chord spelling is made up of the first, a flat third, and a fifth degree.

If we use C as the root note and select the degrees of the Minor chord we get C, D#, and G. The D# comes from flatting the third degree, the E.

Chord spellings in the Ultimate Chord Book are abbreviated using numbers as well as 'b' and '#' characters. For example, the Major chord spelling is 1, 3, 5. The Minor chord spelling is 1, 3b, 5, where 'b' means flat (one semi-tone down the scale). The Augmented chord spelling is 1, 3#, 5, where '#' means sharp (one semit-tone up the scale).

Some chord spellings will include degrees such as 9th, 11th, and 13th. What are those? Well, they are actually the 2nd, 4th and 6th degrees. If you think about the key as a continuous loop of notes, then the 8th degree is actually the first. So the 9th is the second. A fully fleshed out key looks like this:

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