Somehow my response posted prematurely!
Anyway, I could go on and on. You can learn alot from listening to old timers, but most of it is just trial and error. Just when you think you have screwed up every possible way, you will find another way to screw up. Just when you think you have it all figured out, you will get humbled. I go from loving turkeys to hating turkeys to back to loving turkeys. I remember going through the motions of turkey hunting and I didn't believe I was going to kill the bird. Heck, when I dreamed about turkeys I never sealed the deal. Now, every time I go in the woods I think I am going to kill him. When I dream about them now, they bite the dirt. It is just a state of mind. You will eventually gain a confidence that will allow you to stay with a quiet bird those extra hours. You will begin to lay your hands on more and more of them and the screw ups will become fewer and farther between.
Also, I would start out with slate call. I had to learn with an old box call and that thing was too temperamental for a kid to have to use. IMO, nothing sounds as good as a slate that is that easy to use. You can literally draw circles to yelp. I pretty much only use a "Cody" slate and good cutting mouth calls.
Just my 2 cents worth!