Susan's right, Kaboomachuck, the circle of fifths doesn't help much with building chords, but moving along it can get you from one chord to any other without losing a "musical" feel.

Starting at C it moves in two directions, one (let's arbitrarily say clockwise) for the sharps and one (counter clockwise) for the flats.

To memorize them, I've always recommended the mnemonics:

Give Dad An Empty Bottle For Christmas, which stands for G,D,A,E,B,F#, and C#.

Fat Boys Eat And Doctors Go Crazy
which stands for F,Bb,Eb,Ab,Db,Gb,and Cb.

The notes start overlapping at B...B is Cb, F# is Gb, and C# is Db.

(BTW, these are mnemonics and not social, political, or religious statements. I believe they are well over a hundred years old.)

You've got to know your limitations. I don't know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren't too many limitations, if I did it my way. -Johnny Cash

It's only music.
-niteshift

Mike Dunbar Music