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What does a beginning shofar blower need to know to correctly make the sounds?

On Rosh Hashana I heard somebody say something like: if you can't get to a public *shofar* blowing, at least this is a commandment that is relatively easy to fulfill on your own -- most people, this person said, can get acceptable sound out of a *shofar* with a little practice.  This person immediately qualified the statement, though, saying that of course there are *halachot* about how to make each of the sounds, how long they have to be, when to breathe, and I can't remember if this person enumerated any others.  I didn't have the chance to ask more about this at the time.

I know that *teruah* must be short staccato sounds (nine of them, but I don't know if there can be more), that *shevarim* must be longer than *teruah* and rising (three of them), and that *tekiah* must be one longer blast.  Every *tekiah* I've heard has been longer than the accompanying *shevarim*; I don't know if that's *halacha* or just how we do it.  But what else?  What are the "beginner-level" minimum requirements?  Do you have to make the sounds a certain way, like tonguing the *teruah* versus just blowing lots of short blasts?  Are there minimum lengths for *shevarim* and *tekiah*?  And what's this about when you can/can't breathe?  What else, aside from the musical aspects and assuming a kosher *shofar*, does a beginner need to know to correctly perform this *mitzvah*?