So said Steve Jobs (quoting Pablo Picasso) of Apple and Pixar fame. He went on to explain how he has been shameless about stealing ideas directly from competitors and improving them or making them appeal to the mass market.

For those in the business of songwriting this philosophy can come in quite handy. Here are three ways to steal ideas:

Stealing #1:

Listen to a song that has a similar “vibe” to what you want to play. Shut off the stereo and then try and copy the song you just listened to from memory. Chances are you won’t remember the song progressions entirely. You’ll likely come up with a similar chord progression – but one unique enough to be called your own.

Stealing #2:

If there is a chord progression you really like, steal it. (This tip is from the songwriting tips archives.) Now take it a step farther. Instead of playing the same chord progression verbatim, play it in a different rhythm. Find a heavy rock song you like. Now, play the chord progression with a reggae beat. Or play it with a country twang. Or make it real “folksy” (Is that even a word?), or fingerpick it and make it sound pretty and melodic. Not only will you likely come up with a new song, you will also become more familiar with the universal commonalities of music as a whole.

And on to tip #3 …

Stealing #3:

Take a chord progression you like and play it on an instrument you’re not that good at. Chances are you’ll stumble across and interesting twist to the existing chord progression.

You can even mix and match the ideas above. For instance, try idea #1 and come up with a unique chord progression. Then move to idea #2 and play your unique chord progression in a different rhythm. Voila! You’ve got the makings of a song!

For new songwriters it should be mentioned we are not advocating stealing and creating songs verbatim in a way that borders copyright infringement. However, we are encouraging taking existing ideas, storylines, and so forth as a seed to create your own original and unique musical idea.

Try those out and see what you come up with.

Happy songwriting!

Need more tips? Check out our songwriting tips archive.