Graph Editor

I was trying to use the Autodesk tutorial, but (for me at least) reading about it is more challenging. For example, I was trying to understand the Graph Editor when it comes to animations. I have started to feel a lot more comfortable making shapes and such, but the thought of making those shapes move is a little intimidating. While the balls falling in the bowl we made in class seemed pretty self-explanatory (adding gravity) I am more concerned with finding a way to make an object or figure move exactly the way I want. I realize Maya is a software that uses physics and manipulations like gravity and tangents, and that in itself will be a useful tool. But I am no physicist, not at all.

Below is the Graph Editor. The tutorial suggests you can simply manipulate it based on frames and "move" points. This video shows the manipulation in action. A simple speed change.