scale-info

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)