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.
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN?
Creedence Clearwater Revival
HOLD ON TIGHT
Electric Light Orchestra
ISLAND IN THE SUN
Weezer
JUMP, JIVE AN' WAIL
The Brian Setzer Orchestra
LOVER'S CROSS
Jim Croce
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
The Police
ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER
The Fixx
PUT YOUR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER
Paul Anka
ROCK AND ROLL ALL NITE
KISS
SAILING
Christopher Cross
SINCE I LOST YOU
Genesis
THE WIND BENEATH MY WINGS
Bette Midler
TOGETHER AGAIN
Emmylou Harris
TO LOVE SOMEBODY
Bee Gees
YEAR OF THE CAT
Al Stewart
YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE
Debby Boone
ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL
Diana Krall
BURNING HOUSE
Cam
COMPUTER BLUE
Prince
CROSS ROAD BLUES
Eric Clapton
DIED IN YOUR ARMS
Cutting Crew
DON'T STOP 'TIL YOU GET ENOUGH
Michael Jackson
DRIVE
R.E.M.
FIFTY WAYS TO LEAVE YOUR LOVER
Paul Simon
HEY NINETEEN
Steely Dan
I FALL TO PIECES
Patsy Cline
I GET AROUND
The Beach Boys
I'M GONNA GETCHA GOOD!
Shania Twain
INSTANT KARMA
John Lennon
LAYLA
Eric Clapton
Losing My Religion
R.E.M.
LOSING MY RELIGION
R.E.M.
SHOT GUN
Junior Walker & The All-Stars
SLOW RIDE
Foghat
STAY
Maurice Williams
STAY WITH ME
Faces
WONDERFUL TONIGHT
Eric Clapton
YOU ARE THE WOMAN
Firefall
A BIG HUNK O' LOVE
Elvis Presley
ARE YOU GONNA GO MY WAY
Lenny Kravitz
BRING IT ON HOME TO ME
Sam Cooke
HELP ME MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT
Kris Kristofferson
HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN YOU
Steve Green
I DO I DO I DO I DO I DO
ABBA
I'M IN YOU
Peter Frampton
I Only Want To Be With You
Dusty Springfield
LOVE IS STRANGE
Mickey & Sylvia
Perfect Day
Lou Reed
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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.