Coming from only mountain bike grip shifting, I went through learning downtube friction shifting last spring. Then I went a learning curve again last summer, when I bought my second C&V bike, with the friction shifters moved on the stem. Now, I get to go through it a third time with the new bike with bar end shifters...

After a couple rides, it becomes incredibly intuitive. Two things to remember: don't get too caught up in having to have shift a specific number of gears (friction in general), and secondly (downtube specifically): REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR FINGERS AWAY FROM THE FRONT WHEEL