How did Rameau's Treatise on Harmony (1722) influence the mass production of musical instruments?

Question

Rameau's Treatise on Harmony (1722) initiated a revolution in music theory but in what ways did that translate into popularizing music ... particularly the mass production of musical instruments? The question means if his work made music more accessible to the public and therefore greater demand to produce less expensive instruments -- perhaps with metal instead of gut, such as frets, using less materials, etc.

Answer 1

Cheaper, mass produced musical instruments, like many other goods, were made more affordable by advances in mechanization, utilization of steam power, standardization of interchangeable parts, and other advances that were part of the industrial revolution. I'm not sure a line could be drawn between that and Rameau's insight that bass notes (i.e., inversions) did not determine the identities of chords.

Did Rameau's ideas contribute to a greater use of concerted chordal voices and the reduced use of counterpoint? I'm not convinced that the historic ebb and flow of complexity versus simplicity, which has occurred several times in western musical history, depended primarily on Rameau, though his ideas may have contributed.

Likewise, social changes beyond the work of Rameau may have had a stronger influence on popular access to art music than the work of any single composer or theorist. Rising standards of living, the French Revolution, the decine of land-based wealth and rise of a middle class, and other changes that shifted the balance of disposable income and the availability of leisure time are more likely candidates.

Answer 2

I wouldn't think that in 1722 his ideas made instruments cheaper but instead made the music more adaptive to the general public.Previous to this the songs relied more on counterpoint and the ability to weave lines together which would require the ability to read a flowing line that runs counter to the others. Tjhis takes more skill and education which would serve the upper classes more thqn the lower. The invention of chords, and progressions would make the music more grounded and easier for the less educated to consume and read as well as play.