| name | scale-info |
| description | Returns the seven notes of a major or minor key plus its key signature and relative key. Calls the deterministic `ga_scale_get_notes` MCP tool — never recall an answer from training data. |
| triggers | ["scale notes","scale of","notes in the key","notes in c major","notes in c minor","notes in a major","notes in a minor","notes of the key","what is c major","what is c minor","key signature of","list the notes of"] |
| license | internal |
| compatibility | {"agent-framework":">=1.0.0-preview","microsoft-extensions-ai":">=10.5.1"} |
| metadata | {"authoring-style":"tool-driven","origin":"second MCP-tool-driven canary; replaces direct C# ScaleInfoSkill in the SKILL.md path","evidence-kinds":["tool_call"]} |
| allowed-tools | ["ga_scale_get_notes"] |
Notes of a Major or Minor Key
When a user asks for the notes of a key (or scale), call the ga_scale_get_notes MCP tool. Do NOT recall the notes from training knowledge — different sources spell the same key differently (D# minor vs Eb minor) and the LLM will confidently produce wrong notes for less-common keys.
Calling the tool
The tool takes two arguments:
root — string, e.g. "C", "F#", "Bb". Case-insensitive.mode — "major" or "minor" (also accepts "maj" / "min").
It returns a structured result:
Notes — string array of seven note names in ascending order.KeySignature — human-readable, e.g. "2 sharps" or "no sharps or flats".RelativeKey — name of the relative major or minor.Error — non-null only when the input could not be parsed.
Mapping user phrasings to arguments
- "What notes are in C major?" →
root="C", mode="major".
- "Show me the F# minor scale" →
root="F#", mode="minor".
- "List the notes in Bb major" →
root="Bb", mode="major".
- "What is D minor?" / "Tell me about D minor" → treat as a notes request:
root="D", mode="minor".
- "What's in the key of E?" — the user did not specify mode. Ask first rather than guessing: "E major or E minor?"
Phrasing the answer
Use the Notes array verbatim, joined with – (en-dash) or commas. Add the KeySignature and RelativeKey as a separate sentence. Example:
The C major scale has 7 notes: C – D – E – F – G – A – B. Key signature: no sharps or flats. Relative minor: A minor.
If Error is non-null, surface the message verbatim and ask the user to clarify.
When to ask for clarification
- User names a chord rather than a key: "what notes are in a C major chord" → that's a chord-intervals question; defer to the
chord-info skill. Do NOT call ga_scale_get_notes.
- User asks about modes (Dorian, Phrygian, etc.) other than major / minor — defer to the
modes skill, which lists the seven major-scale modes with their degree formulas. ga_scale_get_notes itself only returns major or minor.
- User asks for a scale other than the diatonic 7-note one (whole-tone, blues, pentatonic, harmonic minor): decline rather than fabricating notes.
Out of scope
- Modal scales (Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, etc.) — not yet supported by the tool.
- Synthetic / non-Western scales — not supported.
- Chord-tones-of-a-chord queries — different skill.
Cross-reference
- MCP tool:
Common/GA.Business.ML/Agents/Mcp/ScaleMcpTools.cs
- Tool tests:
Tests/Common/GA.Business.ML.Tests/Unit/ScaleMcpToolsTests.cs
- Legacy C# skill it replaces:
Common/GA.Business.ML/Agents/Skills/ScaleInfoSkill.cs (regex-driven, no LLM round-trip — kept for the deterministic fast path)
