NU2SAX said:
I could simply follow the formula, which would give me C#, E#, G#, B# for the i chord, D#, F#, A#, C# for the ii chord, and G#, B#, D#, F# for the V chord. But the chords also are chords with a name in and of themselves right? So is there a D# minor 7th chord. I know there's an Eb minor 7th.
Am I being really dense or what?
You're not being dense at all. In fact your "confusion" and questions lead me to believe you're pretty intelligent, so I'll take a chance on confusing you further. Read on.
Everyone gets confused initially with this stuff because when you spell scales and chords strictly from the key signature, you run into some problems naming the notes. Strictly speaking, you have spelled those chords correctly. However, B# is actually the same note as C (these are called enharmonic notes: same note, different names). D# = Eb, and E# = F. Also C# = Db. A keyboard will help make all this very clear.
Try this. Instead of thinking C# major, think Db major. It's exactly the same key and scale:
Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C
Now your ii-V-I chords are:
Imaj7 = Dbmaj7: Db F Ab C
iimin7 = Ebmin7: Eb Gb Bb Db
V7 = Ab7: Ab C Eb Gb
I realize it's still a lot of flats in this case, but the notes C & F are easier to deal with in your mind than D# & E#. You get used to doing this after a while. I tend to mix flats & sharps around to make it easier to visualize. So, for example, even if I'm "thinking" in the key of C#, I always visualize the 3rd as F, rather than E#. And (please don't let this confuse you!) when I think of an Ab7 chord, I visualize the b7th as an F#, even though technically it's a Gb. Only because it works for me. You have to attain some flexibility with this.
At the risk of further confusion, I'll add something else here. I think it is important at some point to think in terms of the chord root, as well as spelling chords modally. So you can define chord
quality, maj, min, dominant, etc., relative to a major scale based on the chord root. Like this:
Cmaj7 = 1 3 5 7 (of the C maj scale) = C E G B
C7 = 1 3 5 b7 (of the C maj scale) = C E G Bb
Cmin7 = 1 b3 5 b7 (of the C maj scale) = C Eb G Bb
Now you can derive any chord in this fashion, based on the root. I'll give one more example at random:
Emin7......Take an E major scale, flat the 3rd & 7th, then spell the chord:
E G B D (the 3rd of E maj is G# and the 7th is D#).
Hope this helps you get the idea, but you'd be wise to get a good theory book and work through it very carefully. And a keyboard is worth its weight in gold.