Piano Songs with Walking Bass
857 songs — Walking bass — left hand moves in steady quarter notes through the chord tones and passing notes — is the defining bass pattern of jazz, blues, and boogie-woogie. Tricky to play, instantly cool.
How walking bass works
Walking bass: LH plays a steady stream of quarter notes (one per beat) that outline the harmony — typically chord root → 3rd → 5th → chromatic passing tone → next chord root. Mostly stepwise motion.
SUSSUDIO
Phil Collins
SWEET DREAMS
Beyonce
TAKE IT ALL
Adele
THE BOY WITH THE THORN IN HIS SIDE
The Smiths
THEN YOU CAN TELL ME GOODBYE
The Casinos
UP TO THE MOUNTAIN
Patty Griffin
WHO NEEDS TO DREAM
Barry Manilow
Who's Crying Now
Journey
WOULD?
Alice In Chains
ZOMBIE
The Cranberries
ACHY BREAKY HEART
Billy Ray Cyrus
AT THE HOP
Danny & The Juniors
A WOMAN LIKE YOU
Lee Brice
BETWEEN THE SHEETS
The Isley Brothers
CAN'T STOP
Red Hot Chili Peppers
CHRISTMAS OFFERING
Casting Crowns
DON'T BE CRUEL
Elvis Presley
EVERYTHING
Alanis Morissette
HEAD ABOVE WATER
Avril Lavigne
HERE IS GONE
Goo Goo Dolls
HOW SOON IS NOW
The Smiths
I BURN FOR YOU
The Police
I GUESS THAT'S WHY THEY CALL IT THE BLUES
Elton John
JAILBREAK
Thin Lizzy
LIGHT IN THE HALLWAY
Pentatonix
LIKE A VIRGIN
Madonna
LOVE IS HERE
Tenth Avenue North
LOVE IS THICKER THAN WATER
Andy Gibb
MONEY FOR NOTHING
Dire Straits
RASPBERRY BERET
Prince
Read All About It, Pt. III
Emeli Sandé
SAN FRANCISCO
Scott McKenzie
SERMONETTE
Julian Adderley
SURFER GIRL
The Beach Boys
THE BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO
The Beatles
THE BIRTHDAY OF A KING
William H. Neidlinger
THE MIRACLE OF LOVE
Eurythmics
THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS
Jimmy Webb
We Got to Get You a Woman
Todd Rundgren
AFTER THE FIRE IS GONE
Conway Twitty & Loretta Lynn
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE
The Beatles
CRAZY LOVE
Van Morrison
DRIVE MY CAR
The Beatles
FROM THE DINING TABLE
Harry Styles
HOW SWEET IT IS
Marvin Gaye
IT IS NO SECRET
Elvis Presley
I WANNA GO BACK
Eddie Money
JUST THE TWO OF US
Grover Washington Jr. feat. Bill Withers
Page 11 of 18 · 857 walking bass songs
Frequently asked questions
- What is walking bass piano?
- Walking bass is a left-hand technique where you play a continuous stream of quarter notes that "walk" between chord changes. Defining sound of jazz, blues, swing, and boogie-woogie.
- Is walking bass hard?
- Yes — it's one of the more advanced bass patterns. Requires hand independence (LH does its own walking line while RH plays melody/chords) and knowledge of scale + chord theory to construct walking lines.
- What songs use walking bass?
- Most jazz standards, blues progressions, and many soul/funk tracks. Browse the list for examples — mostly medium and hard difficulty.