[quote=swingbabymix]
Can the circle of fifths help me learn to substitute chords?
Not really. It is more for chord progressions.
He seems to be a total novice to the use of chords, so surely he needs to know the basics of chord progressions at the very least. I know the forum members are extremely helpful but there is no substitute for learning these things, rather than having someone spoon feed him the answer and him not understanding the theory behind it.