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.
DON'T EXPLAIN
Billie Holiday
DREAM LOVER
Bobby Darin
GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY
Little Richard
I WANT TO SEE THE BRIGHT LIGHTS TONIGHT
Richard & Linda Thompson
LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE
The Monkees
RAPTURE
Blondie
SLOOP JOHN B
The Beach Boys
THE FIRST NOEL
Elvis Presley
THOSE WERE THE DAYS
Mary Hopkin
I BELIEVE IN YOU
Il Divo
I CAN'T TURN YOU LOOSE
Otis Redding
PURPLE HAZE
Jimi Hendrix
THE LAST SUPPER
Andrew Lloyd Webber
UPTOWN
Carole King
WHIP IT
Devo
CALIFORNIA STARS
Bob Seger
LOVE IS A SONG
Larry Morey
MESS AROUND
Ray Charles
RUN THROUGH THE JUNGLE
Creedence Clearwater Revival
SAVED BY THE BELL
Bee Gees
CALL ME THE BREEZE
Lynyrd Skynyrd
I WALK THE LINE
Johnny Cash
LOVING YOU
Elvis Presley
TOM DOOLEY
Kingston Trio
SUZANNE
Judy Collins
WORRIED MAN BLUES
Traditional
Air (from The Water Music Suite)
George Frideric Handel
Almost There
Randy Newman
Andante from Piano Concerto in C Major, K467
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Andante from Septet In E Flat, 4th Movement
Ludwig van Beethoven
Angie
The Rolling Stones
Baby Mine (from Walt Disney's Dumbo)
Frank Churchill
Beauty And The Beast
Alan Menken
Bills
LunchMoney Lewis
Chiquitita
ABBA
Choir Girl
Cold Chisel
Cry Me A River
Julie London
Dancing Face
The Wiggles
Deck The Halls
Traditional
Don't Stop
Fleetwood Mac
Dream A Little Dream
The Mamas & The Papas
Emperor Waltz
Johann Strauss II
Everyday
Buddy Holly
Eye of The Tiger
Survivor
FEELING U, FEELING ME
Alicia Keys
Ghost
Ella Henderson
Girl Almighty
One Direction
God Gave Rock And Roll To You II
KISS
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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.