Left-hand pattern · Blues & boogie
Jazz walk
One note per beat, strolling like a jazz bassist. Musicians call it walking bass.
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Jazz walk goes
One bar over a C chord: a row for each key, a column for each step, the finger on each note. Over another chord, move the same shape to its root.
Walking bass: One note per beat, walking up and down like a jazz bass.
Songs with Jazz walk
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Jazz walk, from verse to chorus.
More walks & steps
All patternsQuestions about Jazz walk
What is Jazz walk on piano?
One note per beat, strolling like a jazz bassist. Musicians call it walking bass, one of the walking bass patterns: one note per beat, walking up and down like a jazz bass.
How do I play walking bass with the left hand?
Over C major it is C3 (5), then D3 (4), then Eb3 (2), then E3 (1); the number after each note is the finger (1 is the thumb). Over any other chord, move the same shape to that chord's root.
What songs use Jazz walk?
It is heard in thousands of songs of the library, as the main groove of 346 songs, such as White Christmas, Rolling In The Deep, Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours, Yesterday.
Is Jazz walk easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 112 beats a minute.