In this article, I deal with the history of the accordion. In doing so, I follow the concept of the social life of musical instruments and also define the accordion technologically as an accordion machine, which in the 19th century fundamentally changed music almost all over the world. After the initial definition of the accordion machine, I discuss its role in the early development of popular music, which had been concluded by the electric guitar and guitar music. The second part of the article is devoted to the specifics and history of the social life of the diatonic accordion in the area of today's Slovenia, in which the accordion appears as a form of social and cultural struggle. In the conclusion, however, I also wonder about the possibilities of an alternative social life of the diatonic accordion. In the article, I largely follow the already completed trajectories, and its purpose is to clearly specify the elements of cultural and technical history of the (diatonic) accordion.
