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.
THE WAY
Ariana Grande
THE WONDER OF THE CROSS
Vicky Beeching
THE WORD OF YOUR BODY
Duncan Sheik
THINK OF LAURA
Christopher Cross
TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM
Phil Spector
TOMORROW
Chris Young
TWO LESS LONELY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD
Air Supply
WELCOME TO BURLESQUE
Cher
WHAT IS LIFE
George Harrison
WHITE LIE
The Lumineers
WOODEN SHIPS
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
YOU'LL SEE
Jonathan Larson
YOU MAKE IT REAL
James Morrison
Alfie
Barbra Streisand
ALL I NEED
Jack Wagner
ANGEL OF HARLEM
U2
BEDS ARE BURNING
Midnight Oil
DECEMBER 1963
Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
DIDN'T WE ALMOST HAVE IT ALL
Whitney Houston
FLARES
The Script
GOTTA GET THRU THIS
Daniel Bedingfield
IF I CAN DREAM
Elvis Presley
IT WASN'T HIS CHILD
Skip Ewing
LIKE THIS
Shawn Mendes
LOVE MACHINE
Miracles
MISTY
Sarah Vaughan
MY NAME IS JONAS
Weezer
ONE STEP CLOSER
Linkin Park
SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST
Vanessa Williams
THE TRACKS OF MY TEARS
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
TIME PASSAGES
Al Stewart
WRAP IT UP
Sam & Dave
AFTER THE DANCE
Michael McDonald
AIRPLANES
B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams
BABY, I LOVE YOUR WAY
Peter Frampton
BEAUTIFUL MORNING
The Rascals
Because Of You
Kelly Clarkson
BLESS THE BROKEN ROAD
Rascal Flatts
Burn One Down
Ben Harper
CATCH ME WHEN I FALL
Ashlee Simpson
CLOSER AND CLOSER APART
Mary Chapin Carpenter
DANCIN' AWAY WITH MY HEART
Lady A
DANCING WITH THE ANGELS
Monk & Neagle
DISEASE
Matchbox Twenty
DON'T WANNA FALL IN LOVE
Jane Child
DYNAMITE
Taio Cruz
ERES TÚ/TOUCH THE WIND
Mocedades
ESCAPADE
Janet Jackson
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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.