how did the piano change society?

[Chicago]

Since the invention fo the piano in 1700 how has it changed society? Did it bring music to a bigger audience, Was the piano found on both sides of social boundaries?

How did the piano effect the baroque period as well as the time periods later on?

[staisil]

Since its inception, the piano has been the universal tool of choice for composing music, because almost every note you would ever want to work with is present on the keyboard, right there in front of you. Most pianos have at least 7 octaves to work with, and concert pianos can have more than 12 octaves.

You want to compose music for an oboe? The lower registers of the piano work quite nicely. Pieces written for strings can be easily hammered out in the middle and upper registers. And unlike most other instruments, you can hit chords and multiple notes simultaneously on a piano, which works well for trying to figure out how that multi-instrument orchestral piece you're writing will eventually sound.

You can blame the fact that the piano was invented by an Italian for the bulk of tempo and dynamic markings being Italian words. From day one of the piano's release to the initially Italian market, composers were finding new ways to write music on this spectacularly flexible instrument.