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.
Who Says
John Mayer
ALL FOR ONE
High School Musical 2
BEAUTIFUL
Christina Aguilera
DON'T SAY GOODNIGHT
The Isley Brothers
Got to Be Real
Mary J. Blige & Will Smith
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Demi Lovato
IN CASE
Demi Lovato
MATTHEW AND SON
Cat Stevens
MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS
David Nichtern
Return of the Grievous Angel
Gram Parsons
SIGNS
Five Man Electrical Band
SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE
Aretha Franklin
SING A SONG
Third Day
STUPID GIRLS
P!nk
SUDDENLY
Billy Ocean
TOM'S DINER
Suzanne Vega
UNTIL THE END OF TIME
Justin Timberlake
WAVE ON WAVE
Pat Green
WE WISH YOU A TIMELESS CHRISTMAS
Israel Houghton featuring CeCe Winans
WHEN LOVE COMES TO TOWN
U2
Where Did My Baby Go
John Legend
WORK
Rihanna featuring Drake
ALIVE
Pearl Jam
BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE
A Taste Of Honey
BREAK THE ICE
Britney Spears
CALL ON JESUS
Nicole C. Mullen
CAN I CLOSE THE DOOR
Berry Gordy
CHRISTMAS IS ALL IN THE HEART
Steven Curtis Chapman
COME UNDONE
Duran Duran
DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'
Glee Cast
FORGOTTEN
Avril Lavigne
HEAVEN ON THEIR MINDS
Andrew Lloyd Webber
ILLEGAL
Shakira
I'LL MAKE LOVE TO YOU
Boyz II Men
IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME
Carpenters
KISS YOU
One Direction
LIVE WHILE WE'RE YOUNG
One Direction
LOVES ME LIKE A ROCK
Paul Simon
LOVE YOUR LOVE THE MOST
Eric Church
MAKING CHRISTMAS
Danny Elfman
MILLION DOLLAR BILL
Whitney Houston
MORE THAN A FEELING
Boston
MORE THAN ANYTHING
Natalie Grant
SMOOTH CRIMINAL
Michael Jackson
Taylor
Jack Johnson
THE BATTLE HYMN OF LOVE
Kathy Mattea
THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
Amy Grant
THINKING OUT LOUD
Ed Sheeran
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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.