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.
LIVELY UP YOURSELF
Bob Marley
LONESTAR
Norah Jones
LOSER
Beck
MISSISSIPPI HALF-STEP UPTOWN TOODELOO
Grateful Dead
NOBODY KNOWS YOU WHEN YOU'RE DOWN AND OUT
Eric Clapton
PLEASE PLEASE ME
The Beatles
REFLECTING LIGHT
Sam Phillips
SOUTHERN NIGHTS
Glen Campbell
SWANEE
George Gershwin
TAKES TWO TO TANGO
Pearl Bailey
TEQUILA SUNRISE
The Eagles
THE POTTER'S HAND
Darlene Zschech
TILL I WALTZ AGAIN WITH YOU
Teresa Brewer
TOP OF THE WORLD
Carpenters
WALK BY FAITH
Jeremy Camp
WILD, WILD WEST
Escape Club
YOU CAN DO MAGIC
America
YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell
ANCIENT WORDS
Lynn DeShazo
DEACON BLUES
Steely Dan
DREAM ON
Depeche Mode
ENOUGH
Chris Tomlin
GRACE, TOO
Tragically Hip
IF I WAS YOUR GIRLFRIEND
Prince
I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR
U2
I WAS COUNTRY WHEN COUNTRY WASN'T COOL
Barbara Mandrell
JACKIE BLUE
Ozark Mountain Daredevils
JUST WALKING IN THE RAIN
Johnnie Ray
LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD
Pat Benatar
MAXWELL'S SILVER HAMMER
The Beatles
ME AND BOBBY McGEE
Janis Joplin
MY SWEET LADY
John Denver
PLAY A SIMPLE MELODY
Bing Crosby
REMEMBER WHEN IT RAINED
Josh Groban
SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME
The Drifters
STRANGE MAGIC
Electric Light Orchestra
SUNDOWN
Gordon Lightfoot
TAKE MY BREATH AWAY
Berlin
The Chain
Ingrid Michaelson
THICK AS A BRICK
Jethro Tull
TUESDAY'S GONE
Lynyrd Skynyrd
26 MILES
Four Preps
CARS
Gary Numan
ENOUGH FOR NOW
The Fray
FAST AS YOU
Dwight Yoakam
FEELINGS
Morris Albert
GET UP STAND UP
Bob Marley
GLORY DAYS
Bruce Springsteen
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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.