Originally Posted by: jj3downHi... well I just started doing the spider hands thing. My "practice" has always been a series of warm up exercises if you will. I've always just jammed, never tried to formally practice "lessons" exactly. Aside from trying to learn the occasional riff of some song or whatever.

I don't use a metronome. I know I ought to.

I just hope that starting from scratch on this site will help strengthen my fundamentals and more. I also hope this difficulty I have with holding a groove is not just the product of no natural musical talent.

"Holding a groove" is something that comes with practice. To develop that skill, you should use drum beats or backing tracks to practice jamming. You need a groove to hold to :). Before you can learn to hold the groove, you have to feel the groove. As you practice more and more, you'll find you'll start to maintain the groove even when you "mess up"...maybe miss a note you wanted to hit or didn't quite nail a lick.

This has nothing to do with natural talent...just time and practice. Be patient with yourself, practice, and you'll get there.

Regarding your problem with "Ode to Joy"...I had a similar experience with "House of the Rising Sun". As simple as that song is, I still have trouble with the arpeggiation of the chords. It's a skill I continue to work in the background.