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.
O MIO BABBINO CARO
Jackie Evancho
PUT YOUR HAND IN THE HAND
Ocean
SINCE I MET YOU BABY
Ivory Joe Hunter
SOUL TO SQUEEZE
Red Hot Chili Peppers
UNDUN
The Guess Who
USTED ABUSO
Celia Cruz
YOU'VE GOT TO HIDE YOUR LOVE AWAY
The Beatles
CALIFORNIA, HERE I COME
Al Jolson
COME SOFTLY TO ME
Fleetwoods
FLOWERS IN YOUR HAIR
The Lumineers
I'M JUST A SINGER
The Moody Blues
JUMPING JACK FLASH
The Rolling Stones
MAMA HE TREATS YOUR DAUGHTER MEAN
Ruth Brown
MR. PITIFUL
Otis Redding
SLOOP JOHN B.
Barry McGuire
SOUL MAN
Sam & Dave
Stuck In The Middle With You
Stealers Wheel
SURFIN' U.S.A.
The Beach Boys
BENEATH STILL WATERS
Emmylou Harris
CREAM
Prince
FOR THE GOOD TIMES
Ray Price
HEY HEY, MY MY
Neil Young
HURT
Elvis Presley
I KNOW PLACES
Taylor Swift
REACH OUT, I'LL BE THERE
The Four Tops
TURN! TURN! TURN!
Judy Collins
AIN'T SHE SWEET
The Beatles
A LOVER'S CONCERTO
The Toys
CHANTILLY LACE
The Big Bopper
IF I COULD ONLY WIN YOUR LOVE
Emmylou Harris
LA BAMBA
Ritchie Valens
PARANOID
Black Sabbath
SEE YOU LATER, ALLIGATOR
Bill Haley & His Comets
SEVEN NATION ARMY
The White Stripes
SOLITARY MAN
Neil Diamond
THE STROLL
The Diamonds
YELLOW SUBMARINE
The Beatles
YOUR CHEATIN' HEART
Hank Williams
ALL SUMMER LONG
The Beach Boys
ASPENGLOW
John Denver
BODHISATTVA
Steely Dan
BOOK OF LOVE
The Monotones
HEART SHAPED BOX
Nirvana
HOW MAJESTIC IS YOUR NAME
Sandi Patty
NO CHARGE
Shirley Caesar
SPLISH SPLASH
Bobby Darin
UNCHAIN MY HEART
Ray Charles
COLORBLIND
Counting Crows
Page 16 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.