walking bass

American

[beys] / beɪs /

noun

(in jazz piano) a left-hand accompaniment consisting of a continuous rhythm of four beats to the measure, usually with a repetitive melodic pattern.

walking bass British

/ beɪs /

noun

jazz a simple accompaniment played by the double bass at medium tempo, usually consisting of ascending and descending tones or semitones, one to each beat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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walking bass

But that song where you meet Trevor and Craig, we wanted a walking bass, we wanted horns.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2023

His instantly timeless songs traverse funk-soul brotherhood, with walking bass lines, jangly chords, percussive wallop and a vocal tone that drips with Cali cool.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 16, 2022

"Just listen for the bass on this," he says, putting on their demo and pantomiming its McCartney-style walking bass line with exacting precision for a full five minutes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2015

Some of the tracks on the new LP are built over jazz rhythms and walking bass lines; others are constructed over funk beats.

From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2013

But then his right arm mysteriously disappeared, leaving him with nothing but a boogie- woogie walking bass.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023