I have never used ardunio, and was super pleased with myself being able to solder leds and resistors in parallel - thats my current level.
I am concerned. LEDs are usually soldered
in series with current-limiting resistors, almost
never in parallel. I say
almost because there may be some legitimate circuit somewhere that, for some legitimate reason, requires a resistor to be soldered in parallel with an LED. I've just never seen such a circuit yet.
An Arduino is not the world's best approach to learning how to program, and you
must know how to program to use an Arduino. A personal computer IMHO is the
best tool to use to learn how to program. You will need one anyway to develop and download programs to an Arduino.
So, if you don't already know how to program, install a BASIC language interpreter on your PC and write some practice programs to get the "feel" of how you translate your logical intent into computer instructions. Logical intent is an expression of what you want to
DO (light up some LEDs as a function of numbers input to the program, for example) whereas computer instructions, or a program, is a specific way to communicate and execute your logical intention on a computer, of which there are many kinds.
Programs can be written as abstractions of reality, independent of the hardware on which they execute. Most higher-level languages encourage, even demand, such abstraction. However, where the rubber meets the road, you have to realize your program must accommodate
specific hardware, not an abstraction of some hypothetical computer. The Arduino is an excellent choice to learn how to do this. It supports numerous input/output "ports" that you can connect to external hardware such as LEDs or LED drivers. There are numerous "shields" available that mount on top of the Arduino circuit board to extend the I/O capabilities further into the real world. Most shields are supported by an extensive database of application code fragments, called "sketches" in Arduino-speak. You can stitch these code snippets into your programs almost without effort to build your own independent, free-standing, sketch.
The Arduino uses an ARM microprocessor to execute programs (sketches), but it is programmed in a version of C++ that is compiled and downloaded to non-volatile program memory on the Arduino using your PC as the program's integrated development environment or IDE. Once the program is downloaded to the Arduino, you can disconnect the PC and operate the Arduino as a stand-alone device.
It has been suggested that you learn how to light and blink the built-in LED that is connected to one of the Arduino I/O ports. This is the Arduino equivalent to the "Hello, World!" printout that many beginners cut their programming teeth on. Next, you can use an external potentiometer to select a variable DC input voltage to be applied to the Arduino's built-in analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Use the potentiometer to (1) vary the frequency of the LED blinks, or (2) vary the brightness of the blinks with pulse-width modulation, all to be accomplished in software by your very own sketch. Depending on how much time you are willing to invest in learning about Arduino, you should be able to complete both tasks in less than a week. Add in a smattering of electrical circuit theory... Ohm's Law, Kirchoff's Laws, analysis of series and parallel circuits and combinations of the two with one, two, or more voltage and/or current sources and you will be well on your way to an exciting adventure in the electronics hobby.
