Wait! Before you get all upset and threaten to call the cops, this article is not about copyright violations. That's not cool, not at all. What is cool, though, is finding a song you like, drawing inspiration from it, and using that inspiration to create your own original song. That's what Pablo Picasso meant when he said, "Bad artists copy, great artists steal." Steal the inspiration, but use it to make something you can truly call your own -- something that someone else might find to be worth stealing.

Crime Analysis: How It All Goes Down

1. First, find a song you like. Generally speaking, it's easier to draw inspiration from a simple song than a complex one, so pick a song that is relatively simple and straightforward. 2. Then, learn to play it. The easiest way to do that is to type into a search engine the name of the song you are looking to play plus the word "tab." So if you wanted to learn to play "Don't Look Back in Anger" by Oasis, you'd go to a search engine and type in "Don't Look Back in Anger Tab". You can then find the tablature that will show you how to play the song. Alternatively, you can use tablature archive sites like Ultimate-Guitar to find your tabs. 3. Once you know the song, you can start getting creative with it. Is it an electric song? Play it acoustic. Is it acoustic? Play it electric. (If you only have one guitar, then pick a song that is performed on the type of guitar that is NOT yours; for instance if you only have an acoustic guitar, try stealing a song written on an electric). 4. Change the tempo of the song. Is it fast? Play it slow. Is it slow? Play it fast. Doing this, combined with changing it from electric to acoustic (or vice-versa), should give you something that is starting to sound a little different. 5. Next, transpose the song to a different key and/or scale (click here for an article on transposing a musical piece that goes into more detail on how to do that). The easiest way to do that is to use a capo, although I'd recommend switching scales in addition to switching keys to make sure your new piece sounds wholly original. 6. Once you've done that, switch up the rhythm a bit. One of my favorite strategies is to take a song where the chords are strummed and use arpeggios instead (click here for an article on arpeggios). I also like to add rests. 7. Now's the killer ingredient: new lyrics. New lyrics will give the song a new meaning, and are another opportunity for you to switch up the rhythm of the song a bit, as different words require a different rhythm. 8. One last but very important step: tweak the melody. By now the song should sound pretty different than the original you drew inspiration from -- in fact, if it's done properly, it should sound completely different -- but you want your song to be truly original, not just some lame rip-off. To do that, look for places where the melody still sounds a bit identical, and tweak accordingly.

And there you have it! You've stolen a song -- but you've reinvented it into something truly original at the same time. As the saying goes, "Good artists copy, great artists steal."

Still don't believe me? Check out how this formula was applied to reinvent Aimee Mann's song "That's Just What You Are" into an original song. Click here to visit.

Kid Mercury is a VIP member of the New York City Singer/Songwriter Sessions. He is also the founder and director of ActoGuitar, an online guitar education community.