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.
RIGHT HERE
Hannah Montana
RING, RING
ABBA
SECRET LOVE
Frank Sinatra
STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT
Diana Krall
THE STRANGER
Billy Joel
THE UNIVERSAL SOLDIER
Buffy Sainte-Marie
THIS DAY
Point Of Grace
TURN YOUR LOVE AROUND
George Benson
Twist And Shout
The Beatles
VIENNA
The Fray
WATER RUNS DRY
Boyz II Men
WAVES
Mr. Probz
WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE
Carole King
AND SO IT GOES
Billy Joel
CAN'T LIVE A DAY
Avalon
DARLING, JE VOUS AIME BEAUCOUP
Hildegarde
DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART
Abby Mallard
DON'T WAKE ME UP
Chris Brown
DOXOLOGY
David Crowder Band
FIRE AND THE FLOOD
Vance Joy
HE WILL CARRY YOU
Scott Wesley Brown
I WILL REMEMBER YOU
Sarah McLachlan
MORE THAN LOVE
Los Lonely Boys
NOW COMES THE NIGHT
Rob Thomas
OH HAPPY DAY
The Edwin Hawkins Singers
OH MY DEAR
Tenth Avenue North
PERFECT DAY
Lou Reed
ROCK THIS TOWN
Stray Cats
SHAKEDOWN STREET
Grateful Dead
THE DOCK OF THE BAY
Otis Redding
THERE IS A REDEEMER
Keith Green
THINGS
Bobby Darin
WHEEL IN THE SKY
Journey
YEARS FROM NOW
Don Williams
YOU AND ME
Richard Wagner
AFTER THE GLITTER FADES
Stevie Nicks
BABY WHAT A BIG SURPRISE
Chicago
BEER MONEY
Kip Moore
BUT FOR NOW
Jamie Cullum
CHRISTMAS IN HOLLIS
Run DMC
DID YOU EVER HAVE TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND?
The Lovin' Spoonful
DONNA
Ritchie Valens
DO YOU LOVE ME
The Contours
FLIPSIDE
Norah Jones
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
Darius Rucker
I GOT THE FEELIN'
James Brown
I WANT YOU, I NEED YOU, I LOVE YOU
Elvis Presley
I WASHED MY HANDS IN MUDDY WATER
Elvis Presley
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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.