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.
TURNING TABLES
Adele
WE DANCED
Brad Paisley
YOU AND I
John Legend
ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER
Jimi Hendrix
BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY
Fergie
BORDER SONG
Elton John
CHILD OF PEACE
Sandi Patty
Darkside
Alan Walker
ESCAPE
Rupert Holmes
EVERY LITTLE THING SHE DOES IS MAGIC
The Police
FLICKER
Niall Horan
I CAN'T STAND THE RAIN
Ann Peebles
IF YOU LOVE SOMEBODY SET THEM FREE
Sting
I'VE BEEN THIS WAY BEFORE
Neil Diamond
NOBODY BUT ME
Blake Shelton
NO WOMAN NO CRY
Bob Marley
ONE LAST TIME
Ariana Grande
THE MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS
Steven Curtis Chapman
THROUGH ALL OF IT
Colton Dixon
WALK WITH YOU
Edwin McCain
WHERE'S THE LINE TO SEE JESUS?
Becky Kelley
YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME
Christina Aguilera
AFIRE LOVE
Ed Sheeran
AIN'T NO PARTY
Tom Eyen
Beast Of Burden
The Rolling Stones
BEAST OF BURDEN
The Rolling Stones
BORN TO BE MY BABY
Bon Jovi
CAN I CHANGE MY MIND
Michael McDonald
EVENTUALLY
P!nk
FORTRESS AROUND YOUR HEART
Sting
GIMME THREE STEPS
Lynyrd Skynyrd
GO REST HIGH ON THAT MOUNTAIN
Vince Gill
HOLD ON LOOSELY
38 Special
IF YOU WANT ME TO STAY
Sly And The Family Stone
IRONIC
Alanis Morissette
KARMA POLICE
Radiohead
LIKE SISTER AND BROTHER
The Drifters
LOOK THROUGH ANY WINDOW
The Hollies
LOVE DON'T LIVE HERE
Lady A
ME TOO
Meghan Trainor
MY FAVORITE MISTAKE
Sheryl Crow
NON NOBIS DOMINE
Steve Green
OCEAN EYES
Billie Eilish
People Ain't No Good
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
RUNAWAY BABY
Bruno Mars
SH-BOOM
The Chords
SQUARE BIZ
Teena Marie
STEP INTO CHRISTMAS
Elton John
Page 6 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.