When i got started with maya i just tried messing around with things. create a polygon primitive cube and just extrude sum faces to create an object that looks roughly like wat u wanted it to look like.

then fiddle around with the vertices to smooth it out a bit.

also make something then use every single effect and button u can find on it just to see wat it does.

if u mess around enough then eventually u will get the hang of some of the basics.

hope that helps