Add Passing Bass Movement Between Piano Chords Using Just 2 Triads

To add passing bass movement on the piano, keep the right hand on two chords such as Bb major and D major, and use the last beat or two of each bar in the left hand to walk from one root to the next through in-between notes like C (Bb–C–D), F–E (down to D) or G–A (up to Bb).

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Intermediate · 28 min

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What this lesson teaches

In this lesson Jason Zac shows how to make two static chords, Bb major (Bb D F) and D major (D F# A), sound like a moving, musical progression simply by changing what the left hand does. The right hand keeps a steady pattern while the bass adds passing notes between the chord roots. It suits pianists who can already play triads in any inversion and want to build hand independence.

Step 1: Three right-hand patterns

• Blocks: play the chord on each beat, four beats per chord in a bar of 4/4. Then double it to eighth notes.
• Broken chords: split the triad into eighth notes, either the bottom note against the upper two, or the outer notes against the inner note.
• Arpeggios: play Low–Middle–High–Middle. For a richer version, copy the low note an octave higher (an octave-displaced arpeggio) and play it in 16th notes.
• Tresillo: a dance, disco or salsa feel with three hits across the bar, grouped 3+3+2.

Step 2: A steady left hand

At the very least, the left hand plays the root of each chord. Ways to add interest:

• Broken octaves: hold the root with the little finger and repeat the upper octave with the thumb on beats 2, 3 and 4. This sounds lighter than pounding full octaves.
• Root–fifth toggle: alternate the root with its fifth, either below or above. This works especially well with the tresillo pattern.
• Ghost notes: when the right hand plays single hits, let the thumb softly tap the offbeats (the "and"s) in the left hand.

Step 3: Passing bass ascending to D

Use the end of the bar to travel from Bb to D. Try the notes in between and listen: B natural sounds odd here, C# is quite tense, and C sounds best. Places to put it:

1. Play C on beat 4, landing on D at the next beat 1.
2. Repeat Bb on beat 3, then C on beat 4.
3. Squeeze Bb and C into eighth notes on beat 4 and its "and" for a more dramatic lead-in.

Come back from D to Bb in the same way. If coordination is hard, return to quarter notes first, then divide by two.

Step 4: Descending to D and ascending to Bb

You can also walk down to D: F–E–D works nicely, since F belongs to the Bb chord. From D, climb back up to Bb with G–A–Bb. Stepwise movement is recommended, but skips are allowed, for example moving through chord tones of D major before landing on Bb. Some notes give an unusual colour, such as a D major chord over a different bass note, so use your ears.

Step 5: Faster subdivisions and chromatics

Divide the beat by four (1 e and a) and the final beat gives you more slots to fill or leave empty. Chromatic notes that sounded wrong slowly start to work when played fast. You don't need to fill every slot. Try different combinations, leave out beat 4 entirely, or try triplets. The gaps matter as much as the notes.

How to practise

• Master each right-hand pattern alone, then add the plain root in the left hand.
• Sing the bass line as you play to make it more assertive.
• If you use the sustain pedal on octaves, lift it before the passing notes or they will blur together.
• Slow down whenever independence breaks. Control of the exact hit points comes before free experimenting.

Questions about this lesson

What is a passing bass note on the piano?

It is a note the left hand plays between two chord roots to connect them, such as C between Bb and D. It turns a static chord change into a moving bass line.

Which passing note works best between Bb and D?

In this lesson C works best when going up. B natural sounds odd and C# is rather tense at a slow speed. Going down, F–E–D is another good option.

Why do chromatic passing notes sound wrong?

Played slowly, non-diatonic notes can sound out of place. When you divide the beat into 16th notes and play them quickly, they make much more musical sense.

Should I use the sustain pedal with passing bass notes?

You can use it to make bass octaves ring, but lift it before the passing notes so they don't smear together. The pattern also works well without any pedal.

Practise it

• Bass AlchemyKeep the upper notes in place while changing the bass.
• RunwayExplore runs, fills and licks with a chosen start and landing note.
• Piano classes at Nathaniel School of MusicLive online or in Bangalore, with a teacher.
• All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.

Related lessons

• 5 of the Best Left-Hand Piano Accompaniment PatternsFive left-hand piano accompaniment patterns that make simple chords sound professional are spread voicings with the third added, a root-and-fifth toggle, the LHMH magic arpeggio, a tresillo dance groove, and a pedalled deep bass with the chord played higher.
• The Advanced Tresillo Piano Challenge (Hand Independence and Inversions)The Tresillo Piano Challenge is an advanced exercise in which you play D minor, G minor (or Gm6), D minor and A7b9 over four cycles: the left hand keeps an oompa pattern, the right hand plays the tresillo rhythm through each D minor inversion, and every A7b9 bar adds a new kind of triplet or three-note grouping.
• Folk Piano Arpeggios With Melodic Embellishments (Part 1)To play folk-style piano, support the melody with a left-hand arpeggio of root, third, fifth and the root an octave up (A C# E A in A major), then dress up the melody with hammer-ons, double stops, finger glides and short runs.
• How to Play Disco and Dance Piano: Left-Hand Bass and Syncopated Right HandTo play disco piano, keep the left hand toggling between a root and its octave in steady eighth notes (pinky legato on the root, a short staccato thumb flick on the octave) while the right hand plays the chords in rhythms that build from held whole notes to off-beat hits, tresillo patterns and sixteenth-note syncopation.