Cannot connect to database server

[Alistair Leech]

Hi I am new to mysql and I want to learn some code. I installed mysql community workbench on linux mint victoria with snapd and then I installed mysql client and server with the software centre. I can see a database in mysql workbench : Local instance 3306 : root : localhost:3306. When I click on it I get the following message:

Your connection attempt failed for user 'root' to the Mysql server at localhost:3306:

Access denied for user 'root'@'localhost'

Please:
1 Check that Mysql is running on address localhost
2 Check that Mysql is reachable on port 3306(note: 3306 is the default, but this can be changed)
3 Check the user root has rights to connect to localhost from your address(Mysql rights define what clients can connect to the server and from which machines)
4 Make sure you are both providing a password if needed and using the correct password for localhost connecting from the host address you are connecting from

Can someone show me how to carry out these checks so I can connect to the database and practice some code?

Thanks.