Working with MySQL

[BrrrinAlaska]

Got XAMPP installed ok, seems to run ok. Tested php, runs properly, but tried to access phpmyadmin.php and get an error. I'd like to start messing around with MySQL for development purposes, but so far it doesnt seem to be working or I have not configured something. when trying to access phpmyadmin.php via browser with address http://localhost/phpmyadmin/, I get the welcome screen with an error stating can not connect due to invalid settings. Further error info included: phpMyAdmin tried to connect to the MySQL server, and the server rejected the connection. You should check the host, username and password in your configuration and make sure that they correspond to the information given by the administrator of the MySQL server. Everything is set to default from installation right now. XAMPP control panel shows both Apache and MySQL are running.

Where do I got from here? Is there a reference tutorial for initial setup somewhere I can read or can someone point me in the right direction. XAMPP version is: 5.6.21