List of musical works in unusual time signatures


This is a list of musical compositions or pieces of music that have unusual time signatures. "Unusual" is here defined to be any time signature other than simple time signatures with top numerals of 2, 3, or 4 and bottom numerals of 2, 4, or 8, and compound time signatures with top numerals of 6, 9, or 12 and bottom numerals 4, 8, or 16.
The conventions of musical notation typically allow for more than one written representation of a particular piece. The chosen time signature largely depends upon musical context, personal taste of the composer or transcriber, and the graphic layout on the written page. Frequently, published editions were written in a specific time signature to visually signify the tempo for slow movements in symphonies, sonatas, and concerti.
A perfectly consistent unusual metrical pattern may be notated in a more familiar time signature that does not correspond to it. For example, the Passacaglia from Britten's opera Peter Grimes consists of variations over a recurring bass line eleven beats in length but is notated in ordinary time, with each variation lasting bars, and therefore commencing each time one crotchet earlier in the bar than the preceding one.

Upper number of 1


Alchymia by Thomas Adès has a measure of +.Amor dammi quel fazzolettino by Andrew Violette, for one measure in the left hand of the second piano part.Black Tea by Andrew Violette.20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies, by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in No. 9.Caprice Variations by George Rochberg, in variation 19.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bars 49 and 82.Mädchentotenlieder, by Bo Nilsson, at bar 11.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bars 9, 27, 56, and 69.Contrapunctus by Mark Andre.Mädchentotenlieder, by Bo Nilsson, in bar 9.

Upper number of 2

Káťa Kabanová, by Leoš Janáček. Act II is in from rehearsal number 20 to just before rehearsal number 24; act III is in for four bars before rehearsal number 27 and six bars before rehearsal number 28, followed by a mixture of and between rehearsal numbers 28 and 29, and one bar before rehearsal number 36.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bar 47.

Upper number of 3

Upper number of 4

5 Motets by Peter Maxwell Davies.Pli selon pli by Pierre Boulez, in the third movement.Poème des Montagnes, Op. 15 by Vincent d'Indy, in the first and last movements.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bars 38 and 42.

Upper number of 6

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bar 45.

Upper number of 8

Pli selon pli by Pierre Boulez, in the third movement.

Upper number of 9

Time signatures that group nine beats into are very common in music. This section only lists other groupings, such as.

  • "Apocalypse in " by Genesis. Penultimate movement of the "Supper's Ready" suite, rhythm section plays a riff as, organ solo plays polymetrically over this
  • "Big Lie Small World", by Sting is in with varying division.
  • 20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies, by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in Nos. 15 and 19.
  • "The Crunge" by Led Zeppelin. The main groove is in, grouped +.
  • Estancia by Alberto Ginastera. The refrain of "Los peones de hacienda", at rehearsal numbers 62, 65, 67, 68, 69+3, and 70 is marked " "; the remainder is variously in,,, and.
  • "I Hung My Head", by Sting is in.
  • Mikrokosmos by Béla Bartók
  • *No. 148, "Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm" 1, is in.
  • * No. 152, "Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm" 5, is in.
  • "Niška Banja", SATB choral arrangement by Nick Page of a Serbian Gypsy dance, is in.
  • "Scatterbrain" by Jeff Beck, from the album Blow by Blow, contains multiple sections in.
  • "Vroom" by King Crimson contains a few measures in during the bridge.
  • "Blue Rondo à la Turk" by Dave Brubeck is mainly in, grouped as both and.

Upper number of 10

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in bar 12 of the movement Liquid Mechanisms.

Adagio 1972 by Kyle Gann, in measure 34.Apparition by Kyle Gann, in measures 6, 54, and 58.

20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies, by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in Nos. 1, 4, 8, 9, 11, and 19.Charon by Richard Barrett, in bars 36–42.3 Danses from L'Oeuvre d'orgue by Jehan Alain, in the second dance.Hesapa ki Lakhota ki Thawapi by Kyle Gann, in several measures.Hovenweep by Kyle Gann, in bars 28 and 44–45.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in bar 200 of the movement Ride the Cosmos.

20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies, by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in Nos. 3 and 16.Concerto for Piano, Clarinet, and String Quartet by Roy Harris.The Death of the Hired Man by Andrew Violette.

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in bars 50 and 158 of the movement Ride the Cosmos.

Upper number of 11

20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies, by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in Nos. 3 and 16.Charon by Richard Barrett, in bar 65.Concerto for Piano, Clarinet, and String Quartet by Roy Harris.Custer and Sitting Bull by Kyle Gann, in some measures of parts 3 and 4.Earth-Preserving Chant by Kyle Gann, in measures 17, 300, and 314–315.How Miraculous Things Happen by Kyle Gann, in bar 136.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in the movements Ride the Cosmos and Spacecat.Lonely Child by Claude Vivier, in several measures.
  • Piano Sonata no. 2 by Roger Sessions, for some measures in the first movement.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bars 46 and 78.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bar 31.

Upper number of 12

Concerto for Piano, Clarinet, and String Quartet by Roy Harris, in one measure of the second movement.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bar 28.

Upper number of 13

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in several bars of the movement Ride the Cosmos.

Upper number of 14

Adagio 1972 by Kyle Gann, in measure 30.Chicago Spiral by Kyle Gann.

American Song Set by Andrew Violette, for two measures in one of the songs.20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies, by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in Nos. 3 and 16.Concerto for Piano, Clarinet, and String Quartet by Roy Harris.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in bars 4-5 and 171-172 of the movement Ride the Cosmos.Poème des Montagnes, Op. 15 by Vincent d'Indy, in the movement "Danses Rhythmiques".

Upper number of 15

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in bar 41 of the movement Delta Oracle.
Adagio 1972 by Kyle Gann, in measure 39.20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies, by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in Nos. 3, 6, and 9.Charon by Richard Barrett, in bar 69.

Custer and Sitting Bull by Kyle Gann, in measure 76 of part 3.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in five bars of the movement Ride the Cosmos.

Upper number of 16

Custer and Sitting Bull by Kyle Gann, in measures 153, 157, and 162 of part 3.

20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies, by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in No. 4.Desert Sonata by Kyle Gann, in the second movement.

20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies, by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in No. 5.Concerto for Piano, Clarinet, and String Quartet by Roy Harris.Earth-Preserving Chant by Kyle Gann, in measure 210.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in bar 27 of the movement Ride the Cosmos.

Upper number of 17

Adagio 1972 by Kyle Gann, in measure 12.Desert Sonata by Kyle Gann, in the first movement.
  • "Panda" by This Town Needs Guns, in some verse section. It also includes other meters like.
  • "Seven Teens", by Lionel Loueke.
    Adagio 1972 by Kyle Gann, in measure 52.
  • "The Alien" by Dream Theater.
  • The intro of "Changes" by Yes.
  • "The Hole Pt. 1" by Noisia is described by the band as being "more or less" in this time signature.
  • "Hollow" by Björk.
  • "Moon" by Björk.Sketch, Op. 1, No. 6, by Alexei Stanchinsky.
  • "Trapped in the Wake of a Dream" by Mudvayne, verses
    Concerto for Piano, Clarinet, and String Quartet by Roy Harris.Desert Sonata by Kyle Gann, in the first movement.Earth-Preserving Chant by Kyle Gann, in measures 30, 34, 51, 71, 75, 90, 115, 143, 147, 161, 201, 207, 242, 281, 285, and 309.Hovenweep by Kyle Gann, in bars 29 and 33.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in bars 2, 8, and 175 of the movement Ride the Cosmos.
  • Sections of the instrumental Discipline by King Crimson, among other signatures.Mladi by Leoš Janáček, in the second movement.
  • Piano Sonata No. 2 by Andrew Violette.

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in bars 99, 101, and 102 of the movement Ride the Cosmos.

Upper number of 18

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in five bars of the movement Ride the Cosmos.

Upper number of 19

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in bars 28, 29, and 111 of the movement Ride the Cosmos.

Upper number between 20 and 29

20

21

  • "The Art Of Dying" by Gojira cycles from to to and repeats this pattern during the intro and beginning of the song.
  • 3 Danses from L'Oeuvre d'orgue by Jehan Alain has one measure of in the first dance.
  • Desert Sonata by Kyle Gann has in the second movement.
  • Happy Ending by Kyle Gann. Bars 63 and 124 are in, and bar 129 is in.
  • Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann. The movements Ride the Cosmos and Busted Grooves have, and Ride the Cosmos also has.
  • "In Re Con Moto Et Al" by Charles Ives uses.
  • In the Dead of the Night suite by U.K., "contains an instrumental refrain in ".
  • "Keep It Greasy" by Frank Zappa on Joe's Garage.Master of Puppets by Metallica features measures that can be interpreted as.

22

23

24

American Song Set by Andrew Violette. One of the songs is in and two other songs have some measures in in the piano's right hand against in the piano's left hand and voice.Amor dammi quel fazzolettino by Andrew Violette has a passage of in the first piano against in the second piano.

25

Happy Ending by Kyle Gann, in bars 46, 51, 55, and 60.How Miraculous Things Happen by Kyle Gann, in bar 152.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann has in the movement Busted Grooves and in the movement Ride the Cosmos.
  • "How's This for Openers?" by Don Ellis.
  • "Memory Daydreams Lapses" by OSI.
  • "Tenemos Roads", by National Health includes "some extremely intricate passages in ".

26

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann has in the movement Ride the Cosmos.

27

The Death of the Hired Man by Andrew Violette has in measures 373 and 381.Desert Sonata by Kyle Gann has in the first movement.
  • "Goliath" by Karnivool.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann has and in the movement Ride the Cosmos.Happy Ending by Kyle Gann, in bars 45, 47, 50, 56, and 59.
  • After the 1-minute mark, "A Fake Forever" by GB uses the time signature of with a grouping of 7+7+7+6. However, it's brief as it only occurs in measures 97 and 98.

28

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann has in the movement Ride the Cosmos.

29

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann has in the movement Ride the Cosmos.

Upper number between 30 and 39

30

American Song Set by Andrew Violette. One of the songs has in the piano's right hand against in the piano's left hand and voice.Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bar 89.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann has in bar 149 of the movement Ride the Cosmos.

31

  • Athesie, by The Hirsch Effekt. The song is in, grouped as.
  • "Fishing Frenzy" from Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 3 is in.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann has in the movement Ride the Cosmos.

32

  • The main section of "Vardavar" by Tigran Hamasyan is in, grouped as.
  • "Variations for Trumpet" by Don Ellis has one section in.

33

35

  • "Entertain Me" by Tigran Hamasyan contains a repeating melody in, overlaid on top of the main meter.
  • "Nairian Odyssey" by Tigran Hamasyan contains a solo section in, divided variously as + + and.

36

American Song Set by Andrew Violette. One of the songs has a measure in in the piano's right hand against in the piano's left hand and voice and another has the same, but with instead of.Charon by Richard Barrett has in bar 58.The Death of the Hired Man by Andrew Violette has in bar 372.Organbook by Andrew Violette has.

37

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann has in the movement Spacecat.

Upper number between 40 and 49

40

Charon by Richard Barrett has in bar 54.

41

Desert Sonata by Kyle Gann has in the first movement.

42

43

44

Charon by Richard Barrett has in bar 50.

47

48

American Song Set by Andrew Violette. One song has a measure of in the piano's right hand against in the piano's left hand and in the voice.

Upper number between 50 and 59

51

Desert Sonata by Kyle Gann has in the first movement.Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann has in the movement 2.7 Kelvin.

53

Upper number more than 59

77

Charon by Richard Barrett has in bar 56.

86

Charon by Richard Barrett has in bar 52.

101

Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann has in the movement Spacecat.

256

  • "Entertain Me" by Tigran Hamasyan is in, with a repeating motif in laid over it.

Fractional time signatures

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen has at bar 93.

Irrational time signatures

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen has in bar 62.

Combined unusual signatures