
Composing can introduce you to new techniques, concepts, and most importantly, a new side of your own voice.
Advanced
Advanced
• Learn the fundamentals of harmonic minor scales.
• Understand the elements of serialism.
• Develop a better sense of polyrhythms.
Music is an art. Its value and longevity aren't measured in notes per second. Technique certainly has its place, as it allows you to deliver ideas fluently, but it can't be a substitute for substance. History shows that the ceiling of instrumental virtuosity is constantly on the rise, and ultimately, it's great writing that endures. I'll be looking at seven guitarists who employ techniques derived from composed music, and whose compositions warrant real appreciation and invite deeper study.
If we seek to have our musical contributions last longer than the average shelf life of an Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok video, devoting more time to honing our compositional skills and developing a unique, creative voice is a smart bet. And where better to learn than from those for whom this is their specialty?
Many compositional tendencies have become so widely used that they are now part of today's general music practice, but there are still myriad lessons to be learned and inspiration to be found in music of the masters of the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th Century.
Admittedly we don't have space here to dive deeply into any of these concepts, but I'm including suggestions for further study in each section. If anything here intrigues you, you'll have ideas for where you can go next.
Steve Morse's Counterpoint
Counterpoint is one of the oldest and most widely embraced compositional techniques in Western music. Its essence–point against point or note against note–is two or more independent lines contrasting with and enhancing each other. To achieve a level of mastery to use it fluently takes discipline. But when done well, the result is nothing short of divine. Think Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, or Beethoven.
But even if you're apprehensive about the rabbit hole that is counterpoint, a few of the core principles can still help you write better, more interesting music.
1. Think of independence of voices. When one line is moving, the other can rest or be a longer note duration. When one line climbs, try having the other descend. Make sure both lines sound good by themselves as well as with each other.
2. Approach perfect consonances (unisons, octaves, fifths) with contrary or oblique motion. This helps the ear continue to hear the lines as independent. Thirds and sixths are your friends, so use them plentifully.
3. Try out some dissonances–but resolve them, preferably stepwise.
Steve Morse is one of the most sophisticated and recognizable voices in modern guitar. He uses his extensive virtuosic abilities in service of highly developed compositions. One example of his contrapuntal skills is in the aptly named "Point Counterpoint" from his album, Southern Steel. The lower voice enters with a rising motif, echoed immediately in the upper.
"Point Counterpoint"
Ex. 1 shows a basic chord progression and Ex. 2 is a short etude I wrote based on the harmony. Notice how each voice passes the melody back and forth.
Ex. 1
Ex. 2
If you want to deeper into counterpoint, check out Alan Belkin's excellent video series on YouTube. Below you can see the first installment.
On Counterpoint
Jonathan Kreisberg’s French Impressions
French impressionists and American jazz composers have a history of cross pollination. Ragtime pioneers like Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton incorporated polyrhythms of African music into their piano compositions and were pioneers of a style that was the first recognizable genre of music to originate in the United States.
Ragtime made its way to Europe, and Debussy was one of the first western composers to incorporate ragtime in his music. Then, in turn, gypsy-jazz legend Django Reinhardt paid tribute to Debussy's Nuages with his own piece of the same name, integrating distinctly impressionistic whole-tone scales and modal harmonies. The languages have continued to blend, and modern jazz master Jonathan Kreisberg blends colorful chords into the characteristic sonority of French impressionistic composers.
First, let's define a few terms. A mediant relationship is when two chords are separated by a third. In the key of A that could be A and F#. Since both root notes are in the key of A we call that a diatonic mediant. If they aren't in the same key, say we have A and F natural, then that's a chromatic mediant. French composers like Debussy, Ravel, and Satie used this form of chromaticism to achieve a loose tonality, the musical counterpart of the softly representational imagery of Impressionism in the visual arts.
Now, let's get back to Kreisberg. First, watch a video of his epic piece, "Kiitos" below.
Jonathan Kreisberg Group - Kiitos |2008|
The progression that appears at the end is this:
Abmaj7/C–Abm/Cb–Bb7–Bb7–Amaj7–Fmaj7–Emaj7–Emaj7
The progression is based largely around a common note (Ab or G# enharmonically, as in Emaj7) and chromatic mediants, specifically Amaj7–Fmaj7 and Emaj7–Abmaj7.
How Do I Use This?
Try experimenting with movement up or down by a third to a chord outside the diatonic world. Ex. 3 lays out a diatonic chord progression in E major followed by various chromatic mediant options for the second chord.
Ex. 3
An important note: Your harmonic progressions will sound more convincing if you use voice leading—meaning smooth transitions between notes, moving notes as little as necessary when changing harmonies, and keeping notes in common, when possible.
Further Study:
This super artistic video by 12tone is highly recommended to learn more about how to combine seemingly unrelated chords.
When Chords Won't Share
Daniele Gottardo on 20th-Century Russian Harmony
Photo by Matt Grans
Rimsky-Korsakov, godfather of the Russian school, and his pupil, Igor Stravinsky, were on a mission to empower Russian composers to create their own nationalistic identity through blending diatonic folk melodies with chromatic, highly symmetrical harmonic devices. This sound, known as Russian Fantastic Harmony, has had widespread compositional influence. Past and current film composers draw heavily from this language.
One example of this symmetrical type of harmony is octatonic. The octatonic scale alternates half -and whole-steps, as in: B–C–D–Eb–F–F#–G#–A.
Furthermore, you can build harmonies on each scale degree, just as in diatonic harmony, with a wide array of resultant chords. Because of the equal alternation of half- and whole-steps, there is not the same sense of tonal center, so octatonic is great for creating tonal ambiguity. Significantly, you can derive four major and minor triads a minor third apart—both are options in the case of the octatonic scale. Just be on the lookout for enharmonic equivalents—Eb can also function as D#, the third of a B major triad, yet D is also present in the scale, meaning both B major and B minor are octatonic triads.
Italian maestro Daniele Gottardo cites the Rimsky school as his biggest compositional influence. In his piece, "Gingerbread House," Gottardo makes good use of triadic octatonicism.
Daniele Gottardo - Gingerbread House
How to Use This:
1. Pick an octatonic scale and write out the notes (Ex. 4).
2. Pick chord progression derived from the scale. Let's use Bm–Dm–Bm–G#m.
3. Add melody notes and passing tones using your ears and instincts within this environment.
Ex. 4
Ex. 5 shows a Gottardo-inspired octatonic line, incorporating tapped notes.
Ex. 5
Fugues and J.S. Bach
Certain musical practices have earned an enduring place in musical history, even if used less popularly. The fugue is almost synonymous with J.S. Bach, and the highly complex, imitative texture delights us still today. Yet composing one requires rigorous study and highly cultivated counterpoint skills.
A fugue is a compositional procedure based on imitation in which a small musical phrase is introduced and taken over by other voices working in counterpoint.
Bulgarian guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Alexandra Zerner composed a fugue, "Triangulum," in tribute to J.S. Bach.
Alexandra Zerner | Triangulum (Playthrough)
If fully immersing yourself in the discipline feels daunting, there are still components of fugal composition than can enhance your writing:
1. Imitation
2. Contrast of keys
3. Architecture of musical density and texture
How to Use This:
1. Start with writing a canon—a musical idea that is stated and then gets echoed by another part.
2. Write one measure for voice 1. (Ex. 6)
Ex. 6
3. Copy it to voice 2 (transposing by octave is fine) and continue voice 1 by writing a counterpoint to voice 2. (Ex. 7)
Ex. 7
4. Copy the counterpoint to voice 2, and write a counterpoint in voice 1.
5. Continue in this way, until you reach a logical cadence or end of a musical phrase. Ideally the separate voices of the canon should work well together as well as on their own. Ex. 8 shows a short canon idea.
6. This process can also be effective with less rigid imitation—try retaining the basic shape and rhythm of a melody while transposing notes as necessary for harmonic purposes (a process known as free imitation).
Ex. 8
We Need to Talk About Yngwie
Photo by Austin Hargrave
Hilarious quotes aside, Yngwie's combination of tone, technique, and neo-classical shred that celebrates the masters make his musical contribution no laughing matter. The use of the harmonic minor alone wouldn't really justify inclusion here, but combined with baroque-approved chord progressions, intelligent melodic sequences, and Paganini-like technique, we must shine a light on Yngwie's incredible playing.
The sound most identified with Yngwie is the harmonic minor scale, which is simply a natural minor scale with a raised 7, or you can think of it as a major scale with a flat 3 and flat 6.
How to Use This:
Try combining a traditional minor chord progression with arpeggios or a melodic sequence, and make sure you throw in the raised 7, especially when you get to the dominant chord.
In Ex. 9, we have a minor progression outlined by arpeggios a la Yngwie. Notice the raised 7 (B) in three out of the four measures, functioning both as a leading tone to approach the root and as a note of the harmony.
Ex. 9
For Further Study:
Here's a great breakdown on minor scales from Seth Monahan.
Lesson 3: Minor Scales
A good gateway into Yngwie's catalog is "Far Beyond the Sun."
Yngwie Malmsteen - Far Beyond the Sun LIVE
Frank Zappa’s 12-Tone Rows
With the emancipation of dissonance and the treatment of all notes as equals, Schoenberg pushed ears and aesthetics of the time to (and past) the limit. Zappa similarly challenged, delighted, and sometimes enraged listeners and critics. Both were creatively shocking, forward thinking, and managed to forge unmistakable voices. Zappa's contribution as a legitimate and brilliant late 20th-century composer is becoming ever more widely recognized, and his music displayed a deep understanding of complex and varied compositional techniques. Let's look at just one: the 12-tone row.
A 12-tone row is a concept of serialism in music. It is the practical extension of the concept of all notes being treated equally and consists of a composer putting the 12 notes of the chromatic scale in a particular sequence. No note is repeated until the row completes. The series becomes the unifying element of the piece, rather than functional tonality.
"Waltz for Guitar" is a composition that Zappa wrote when he was 18. The tone row he uses is:
G–F#–A–A#–E–G#–D–D#–B–F–C–C#
Frank Zappa - Waltz for Guitar (1958) (score/audio)
The system might feel rigid or the results a bit dissonant for many, but, as with any technique, it can be useful to try it out and see where it leads you. Anything that pushes us into new territory is a great way to encourage artistic revelations, or at least growth. Ex. 10 shows Zappa's 12-tone row.
Ex. 10
To better demonstrate how to manipulate this technique, I came up with Ex. 11, an original tone row I composed.
Ex. 11
I then took the row and came up with a way of delivering that felt that there was some rhythmic interest and cohesion (Ex. 12). I made the choice to have the pitches shift within the rhythm, so that while the rhythm laid out in the first three measures starts again in measure 4, the starting pitch is the last note of the tone row (F#), so everything shifts rhythmically by one note.
But give it a go and be as strict as serves you and your muses.
Ex. 12
Steven Mackey’s Polyrhythms
In addition to being an award-winning composer, Steven Mackey is an electric guitar player whose roots are in rock and blues. Of all the guitarists on this list, he is most fully integrated in the world of serious composition and has been at the forefront of incorporating the electric guitar in unconventional contexts.
You could pick any aspect of composition and find it in Mackey's work. Here we will highlight the use of polyphony and polyrhythm.
Polyphony is a musical texture with multiple, simultaneous voices in independent, complementary melodies. Polyrhythm is the simultaneous juxtaposition of beat groups that are not subdivisions of each other, for example, triplets against eighth-notes.
In the second movement of Mackey's piece for guitar and orchestra, Tuck and Roll, a delightfully wacky guitar part combines both polyphony and polyrhythm in a 5/8 figure against half-note triplets within 4/4 time.
Tuck and Roll: Dark Caprice
I had the pleasure of talking with Steven Mackey about this, and here is how he would advise someone new to this concept to approach creating with it.
1. Start away from your instrument and get used to tapping simple polyrhythms with both hands, such as 2 against 3, 3 against 4, 2 against 5.
2. Apply the polyrhythm to two adjacent strings on the guitar, with each string assigned one part of the meter. Ex. 13 shows a figure of 2 on the 3rd string and 3 on the 4th string. Work on getting the rhythm first—it's very helpful to use a slow click (60 BPM or so). Then start moving notes around to create melodies.
Ex. 13
3.Then try Ex. 14 and Ex. 15, using the same method of getting it in your ears first, then under your fingers in a rudimentary way with static notes on adjacent strings. Then move on to adding melodic movement.
Ex. 14
Ex. 15
4. Once you have really internalized this concept, you can take it across more strings, and move freely.
Good luck with this! The idea with any technique—whether it pertains to your instrument or your composing—is to put it in service of creativity. Developing a new skill requires investment to reap the benefits, so stay patient with aspects that feel laborious. Challenge is how we grow, and the goal is not to recreationally restrict your muses, but to broaden and enrich your palette. If some of these techniques seem cerebral or confining, remember that you have the freedom to use them to the degree that suits you. And you never know… sticking with it a bit longer than is easy or comfortable just might result in something you'd have never written otherwise. I encourage you to stay curious, courageous, and shameless as you discover what is uniquely you in your artistic expressions.
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Over the decades with Hüsker Dü, Sugar, and solo, Bob Mould has earned a reputation for visceral performances.
The 15th studio album from the legendary alt-rocker and former Hüsker Dü singer and 6-stringer is a rhythm-guitar record, and a play in three acts, inspired by sweaty, spilled-beer community connection.
Bob Mould wrote his last album, Blue Heart, as a protest record, ahead of the 2020 American election. As a basic rule, protest music works best when it's shared and experienced communally, where it can percolate and manifest in new, exciting disruptions. But 2020 wasn’t exactly a great year for gathering together.
Mould’s album landed in a world of cloistered listeners, so he never knew how it impacted people. For a musician from punk and hardcore scenes, it was a disquieting experience. So when he got back out on the road in 2023 and 2024, playing solo electric sets, the former Hüsker Dü and Sugar frontman was determined to reconnect with his listeners. After each show, he’d hang out at the merch table and talk. Some people wanted their records or shirts signed, some wanted a picture. Others shared dark stories and secret experiences connected to Mould’s work. It humbled and moved him. “I’m grateful for all of it,” he says.
These are the in-person viscera of a group of people connecting on shared interests, versus, says Mould, “‘I gotta clean the house today, so I’m going to put on my clean the house playlist that a computer designed for me.” “Everything has become so digitized,” he laments. “I grew up where music was religion, it was life, it was essential. When people come to shows, and there’s an atmosphere, there’s volume, there’s spilled drinks and sweat–that’s what music ritual is supposed to be.”
His experiences on tour after the pandemic heartened Mould, but they also gave him traction on new ideas and direction for a new record. He returned to the simple, dirty guitar-pop music that spiked his heart rate when he was young: the Ramones’ stupid-simple pop-punk ecstasy, New York Dolls’ sharp-edged playfulness, Pete Townshend’s epic, chest-rattling guitar theatrics. In other words, the sort of snotty, poppy, wide-open rock we heard and loved on Hüsker Dü’s Flip Your Wig and Candy Apple Grey.
Mould’s time on the road playing solo in 2023 sparked the idea for Here We Go Crazy.
Photo by Ryan Bakerink
Mould started writing new songs in the vein of his original childhood heroes, working them into those electric solo sets in 2023 and 2024. Working with those restraints—guitar chords and vocal melodies—put Mould on track to make Here We Go Crazy, his new, 15th solo record.
Lead single and opener “Here We Go Crazy” is a scene-setting piece of fuzzy ’90s alt-rock, bookended by the fierce pounding of “Neanderthal.” “When Your Heart is Broken” is a standout, with its bubblegum chorus melody and rumbling, tense, Who-style holding pattern before one of the album’s only solos. Ditto “Sharp Little Pieces,” with perhaps the record’s chewiest, darkest guitar sounds.
“It’s a very familiar-sounding record,” he continues. “I think when people hear it, they will go, ‘Oh my god, this is so Bob Mould,’ and a lot of that was [influenced by] spending time with the audience again, putting new stuff into the set alongside the songbook material, going out to the table after the show and getting reactions from people. That sort of steered me towards a very simple, energetic, guitar-driven pop record.”
Of his new album, Mould says, “I think when people hear it, they will go, ‘Oh my god, this is so Bob Mould.’”
Mould recorded the LP in Chicago with longtime bandmates Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster at the late, great Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio. Then Mould retreated to San Francisco to finish the record, chipping away at vocals and extra guitar pieces. He mostly resisted the pull of “non-guitar ornamentation”: “It’s a rhythm guitar record with a couple leads and a Minimoog,” he says. “It’s sort of cool to not have a 64-crayon set every time.”
Mould relied on his favorite, now-signature late-’80s Fender Strat Plus, which sat out on a runway at O’Hare in 20-below cold for three hours and needed a few days to get back in fighting shape. In the studio, he ran the Strat into his signature Tym Guitars Sky Patch, a take on the MXR Distortion+, then onto a Radial JD7. The Radial split his signal and sent it to three combo amps: a Fender Hot Rod DeVille, a Fender ’68 Custom Deluxe Reverb reissue, and a Blackstar Artisan 30, each with a mic on it. The result is a brighter record that Mould says leaves more room for the bass and kick drum. “If you listen to this record against Patch the Sky, for instance, it’s night and day,” he says. “It’s snug.”
Mould explains that the record unfolds over three acts. Tracks one through five comprise the first episode, crackling with uncertainty and conflict. The second, spread over songs six to eight, contrasts feelings of openness with tight, claustrophobic tension. Here, there are dead ends, addictions, and frigid realities. But after “Sharp Little Pieces,” the album turns its corner, barreling toward the home stretch in a fury of optimism and determination. “These last three [songs] should give us more hope,” says Mould. “They should talk about unconditional love.”
The record closes on the ballad “Your Side,” which starts gentle and ends in a rush of smashed chords and cymbals, undoubtedly one of the most invigorating segments. “The world is going down in flames, I wanna be by your side/We can find a quiet place, it doesn’t need to be the Albert Hall,” Mould starts. It’s a beautiful portrait of love, aging, and the passage of time.
Bob Mould's Gear
Mould paired his trusty Fender Strat Plus with a trio of smaller combo amps to carve out a more mid-focused rhythm-guitar sound in the studio.
Photo by Mike White
Guitars
- Late 1980s Fender American Standard Strat Plus (multiple)
Amps
- Fender Hot Rod DeVille
- Blackstar Artisan Series amps
- Fender '68 Custom Deluxe Reverb
Effects
- Tym Guitars Sky Patch
- TC Electronic Flashback
- Electro-Harmonix Freeze
- Wampler Ego
- Universal Audio 1176
- Radial JD7
Strings, Picks, & Power Supply
- D'Addario NYXLs (.011-.046)
- Dunlop .46 mm and .60 mm picks
- Voodoo Labs power supply
And though the record ends on this palette of tenderness and connection, the cycle is likely to start all over again. Mould understands this; even though he knows he’s basking in act three at the moment, acts one and two will come along again, and again. Thankfully, he’s figured out how to weather the changes.
“When things are good, enjoy them,” he says. “When things are tough, do the work and get out of it, somehow.”
- YouTube
Many of the tracks on Here We Go Crazy were road-tested by Mould during solo sets. Here, accompanied only by his trusty Fender Strat, he belts “Breathing Room.”
The guitarist-of-all-trades runs us through his formidable live rig.
Rhett Schull’s a busy guy. Between being one of the most prolific YouTubers in the guitar sphere, working as a trusted hired gun, and creating his own original music, including last year’s EP The Early Days, he’s an avid cyclist. Just a week before we met up with Rhett at Eastside Bowl in Madison, Tennessee, for this Rig Rundown, he was slated to ride a 100-mile race in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Those plans were dashed when 70-mile-an-hour winds stoked a wildfire near town and burned just over 26,000 acres. But the show must go on: The next night, Schull played a gig in town, a special release for people reeling from a brutal natural disaster.
Schull’s a certified gear aficionado and tone wizard, so PG’s Chris Kies headed to Eastside Bowl to have him walk us through his current live rig. Check out the Rundown here, and stay tuned; Schull’s got more music coming later this year.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Special Serus
Schull’s wife pointed out this Novo Serus J hanging on the wall of a guitar shop back in 2017, and it was love at first strum. Made from tempered pine and loaded with Amalfitano P-90 pickups, plus sporting an unmissable pink sparkle polyurethane finish, it’s a real looker, and one of Schull’s favorite guitars.
Third Man Thumper
After Schull did a video on the Fender Jack White Pano Verb amplifier, Fender sent him a Jack White Triplecaster Telecaster, part of his signature series of gear with Fender launched last year. Schull calls it one of the most versatile guitars he owns, with each of the three pickup options virtually splitting it into three separate guitars.
Firebird-Watching
This beauty from Gibson’s Custom Shop came to Schull following NAMM in 2020. On tour, he needs something with humbuckers and something with single-coils. Then, he thinks of what’s exciting him. These days, it’s this Firebird V, which doesn’t have a typical Firebird tone, but cuts closer to something like a Telecaster at times.
Rockin' Two With a Two-Rock
Schull runs two amps onstage, but he doesn’t run them in stereo; he believes the stereo image doesn’t translate as well in a live situation where listeners are spread across the speaker system’s field. With this Two-Rock Classic Reverb Signature and an AC15-ish David Edwards Apollo, Schull gets a “broadband” sound set for big, fat clean tones, like one giant amp on the edge of breakup.
Fun fact: Edwards surprised Schull with the Apollo when Rhett went to Florida to work on some videos.
Rhett Schull's Pedalboard
Schull’s 2024 EP is very effects-heavy, so he commissioned the pedalboard-whisperers at XAct Tone Solutions to build him this double-decker station based around an RJM Mastermind PBC/6X switcher. Some of the stomps, like the Chase Bliss Mood, are activated by MIDI, and all the different sounds from each song—from intro to chorus to bridge to finish—is set up in the RJM. If Rhett wants to go off script, he can hit the function button, which lets him engage pedals on a one-by-one basis. A Line 6 HX One is a “wildcard” pedal in this rig, filling in gaps as needed.
In addition to those machines, the rig includes a Chase Bliss Dark World, GFI System Synesthesia, Hologram Electronics Chroma Console, Boss Space Echo RE-202, GFI System Duophony (which mixes the Dark World and Synesthesia), Chase Bliss Automatone Preamp MkII (used for boost, EQ, fuzz, or overdrive depending on the song), Old Blood Noise Endeavors Beam Splitter, Source Audio ZIO, Memory Lane Electronics Tone Bender clone, and a Mythos Argonaut. A mysterious Japan-made Noel dirt pedal, finished in striking red and gifted to Shull by JHS Pedals’ Josh Scott, rounds out the collection. Utility boxes include a TC Electronic PolyTune3 Noir, Lehle Little Dual, a pair of Strymon Ojai power supplies, and a bigger Strymon Zuma supply.
Sterling by Music Man introduces the Joe Dart Artist Series Collection, featuring the Dart I, II, and III basses.
The original Dart I features the Sterling-shaped body with a single humbucker and volume knob. The Dart II, featuring the beloved Ernie Ball Music Man Caprice body, swaps the humbucker fortwo single-coil pickups, each with its own volume knob for precise, hum-free control. Completing the trilogy, the Dart III is a short-scale StingRay bass with a split single-coil pickup and single volume knob.
A blank canvas, the bass collection embodies the no-frills philosophy of the original Ernie BallMusic Man design—everything you need and nothing you don’t. All three basses are equipped with passive electronics, Ernie Ball flatwound strings, and are available in Natural or Black finishes. No tone knobs here.
“Jack Stratton and I are thrilled to team up once again with Sterling by Music Man to build affordable versions of the three best basses I've ever held in my hands. The JoeDart I, II, and III represent three different sounds and feels, three different eras of bass,and three different shades of my own work as a bassist,” said Dart. “The feel of these instruments is incredible, and the quality would be remarkable at any price point.”
This is a special “Timed Edition” release, only available for pre-order on the Sterling by MusicMan website for two months. Each bass is made to order, with the window closing on May 31st and shipping starting in September. The back of the headstock will be marked with a “2025Crop” stamp to commemorate the harvest year for this special, one-of-a-kind release. A gig bag will be included with each purchase.
All basses are priced at $499.00
For more information, please visit sterlingbymusicman.com.
Billy Corgan and The Machines of God announce 'A Return to Zero Tour' kicking off on June 7th, featuring classic tracks and deep cuts from iconic albums. Tickets available for presale on April 1st. Don't miss this unforgettable experience! Tour dates include Baltimore, Boston, New York, and more.
Today, Billy Corgan, the frontman of the iconic rock band, The Smashing Pumpkins, has announced a new solo project titled ‘Billy Corgan and The Machines of God’ who will commemorate the anniversaries of the legendary albums with sets drawn from Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadness and the double album Machina/The Machines of God & Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music as well as the 2024 release, Aghori Mhori Mei with a national US tour set to kick off this summer. The tour, titled A Return To Zero, will launch on June 7th and feature the four piece group also embarking on previously-confirmed festival shows.
The A Return to Zero Tour will reintroduce a four-piece, two set guitar lineup in which music from these seminal Pumpkins albums were created. The shows will feature classic tracks and deep cuts from the highly acclaimed records. In addition to Corgan, The Machines of God will feature recently recruited Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Kiki Wong, drummer Jake Hayden and bassist Kid Tigrrr (Jenna Fournier).
Tickets for the upcoming tour will be available for artist presale beginning Tuesday, April 1st at 10:00AM local time through Thursday, April 3rd at 10:00PM local time. Following the presale, the general onsale will begin Friday, April 4th at 10:00AM local time. Please see tour dates below and purchase tickets at ticketmaster.com.
Along with this touring announcement, The Smashing Pumpkins have revealed the details of the long-awaited and reconstituted release of the 2000 concept albums Machina/The Machines of God and its companion Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music which have been extensively remixed and remastered. Corgan's Madame Zuzu’s tea shop in Highland Park, IL will exclusively offer this expansive 80-song box set; featuring a 48-track ‘MACHINA’ plus an additional 32 bonus tracks of demos, outtakes, and live performances, marking the first time these two records will officially be united. Additionally, the rock band will release a 16-song reissue of the original Machina/The Machines of God vinyl on August 22nd, and pre-orders will begin on June 27th.
This year will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Smashing Pumpkins era-defining acclaimed album, Mellon Collie and The Infinite Sadnesswhich set the sound for a generation. To commemorate the album, Corgan has partnered with Chicago’s Lyric Opera to world-premiere A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness, a seven series performance taking place November 21–30, 2025.
These noteworthy music announcements follow on the heels of an already exciting 2025 for Billy Corgan; earlier this year the rock legend also launched his applauded podcast series “The Magnificent Others.”
Beyond these accomplishments, the GRAMMY® Award-winning musician, versatile producer, songwriter, poet, also serves as the President of the National Wrestling Alliance, owns Madame Zuzu’s, a beloved tea shop in Highland, IL, and remains a devout philanthropist through varying initiatives focusing on animal advocacy and NO KILL shelters.
Billy Corgan and The Machines of God - YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.Tour Dates
- June 7 - Baltimore, MD // Baltimore Soundstage
- June 9 - Boston, MA // Paradise Rock Club
- June 11 - Muskoka, ON // Kee to Bala
- June 12 - Toronto, ON // HISTORY
- June 13 - Montreal QC // Beanfield Theatre
- June 15 - New York, NY // Irving Plaza
- June 16 - Philadelphia, PA // Theatre of Living Arts
- June 17 - Allentown, PA // Archer Music Hall
- June 19 - Detroit, MI // St. Andrew’s Hall
- June 20 - Joliet, IL // Taste of Joliet (Festival Performance)
- June 21 - Grand Rapids, MI // Intersection
- June 23 - Pittsburgh, PA // Roxian Theatre
- June 25 - Cleveland, OH // House of Blues Cleveland
- June 26 - Cincinnati, OH // Bogart’s
- June 27 - Milwaukee, WI // Summerfest*
- June 29 - Minneapolis, MN // Varsity Theater