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.Ian Waugh first lists , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and (Waugh 2003, 76), then says "we've listed all the popular time signatures" (Waugh 2003, 77).

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

Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar, in Variation VII. Entr'actes and Sappho Fragments by Harrison Birtwistle. Leopardi Fragments by Peter Maxwell Davies. Mixtur by Karlheinz Stockhausen. Pli selon pli by Pierre Boulez, in the third movement. Rhythmicana by Henry Cowell, for the entire first two movements. String Quartet No. 2 by Easley Blackwood Jr. Symphony No. 2 by Alexander Borodin. Movement II is in Prestissimo , except for the trio section, which is in Allegretto .

Air - Homage to Sibelius by Thomas Adès. Appalachian Spring, by Aaron Copland, at the third bar of rehearsal 46 and the third bar of rehearsal 48.Copland 1945, 56–59. Apaisement, Op. 13 No. 1, by Ernest Chausson. Canon with Sustained Notes, No. 60 from Mikrokosmos by Béla Bartók, in one measure. Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, in some bars of some movements. Decet for wind instruments, Op. 14, by George Enescu, at bar 240 of the third movement (fifth bar before rehearsal number 42). Étude in C major, by Florence Price. Fünf Klavierstücke, Op. 23 by Arnold Schoenberg, at bar 9 of the second piece. 3 Gesänge aus 'Viae Inviae, Op. 23, by Anton Webern, in some parts of the second song. Káťa Kabanová, by Leoš Janáček, for some measures in Act III between rehearsal numbers 5 and 8. La Langeur, from Le follie francaise ou les dominos from Pièces de Clavecin by François Couperin. Mladi by Leoš Janáček, at measure 68 of the second movement. 8 Nocturnes, FP 56 by Francis Poulenc, at bar 27 of No. 1. Piano Sonata, Op. 43, by Harry Farjeon for a few bars in the first movement. Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 105, by Sigfrid Karg-Elert. Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, by Alexander Scriabin, at bars 251 to 262 (Presto giocoso).

Pli selon pli by Pierre Boulez, in the fifth movement. Quartet, Op. 22, by Anton Webern, in many bars of the second movement. Rapsodie nègre by Francis Poulenc, for some bars in the third movement, "Honoloulou". String Quartet No. 1, by Béla Bartók, in bars 3, 10, and 22 of the third movement. Symphony No. 1, by Edward Elgar, in the second movement. Symphony No. 17 in G minor by Nikolay Myaskovsky, in many parts of the first movement.

Adagio 1972 by Kyle Gann, in measure 66. Alcancías by Silvestre Revueltas, in the second movement, for some bars between rehearsal marks 24 and 32.Revueltas 1971, 32, 34–38. Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, in the movement Swaz hie gat umbe. Clarinet Sonata by Andrew Violette, at measure 97 of the first movement. Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments by Igor Stravinsky, just before rehearsal mark 83. The Death of the Hired Man by Andrew Violette. Divided Arpeggios, No. 143 from Mikrokosmos by Béla Bartók, for one bar, but incorrectly written as . "Etincelles," the first movement of Suite Bizarre by Joseph Achron. "The Eynsham Poacher", a traditional song; in the arrangement by Dave Pegg, most of the tune is in , but the finale includes one bar of . Fantasy on Themes from Mozart's Figaro and Don Giovanni, S. 697, by Franz Liszt and completed by Leslie Howard. Bar 431/427 is in time. Five Chromatic Dances for piano by William Albright, in one measure of the fourth dance. Fleurs mélodiques des Alpes, the second part of Franz Liszt's Album d'un voyageur, S. 156, in one section of the sixth piece (S. 156/13). Hovenweep by Kyle Gann, in bar 116. How Miraculous Things Happen by Kyle Gann, in bar 109. Hyperchromatica by Kyle Gann, in the movements Futility Row, Delta Oracle, and Galactic Jamboree. Iberia by Isaac Albéniz, in the movement Jerez. Lonely Child (1980) by Claude Vivier, at bar 56. Mädchentotenlieder, by Bo Nilsson, in many bars. Metastaseis, by Iannis Xenakis, in the first 103 bars. Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper, by Dream Theater, at the third bar of rehearsal R.Dream Theater Keyboard Anthology. Transcribed by Chris Romero and Jordan Baker 2004, 30. On an Overgrown Path, by Leoš Janáček, for some bars in the sixth, tenth, and eleventh movements. Petrushka by Igor Stravinsky, for the bar before rehearsal 17. Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Prokofiev, in two measures in the second movement. Piano Sonata by Béla Bartók, in the third movement. Piano Sonata no. 2 by Roger Sessions, at measure 178. Piano Sonata No. 3 by Carlos Chávez, in six bars of the first movement.Chávez 1972, 3–4. The first version of Piano Sonata No. 5 by Sergei Prokofiev, for one measure in the third movement. Pli selon pli by Pierre Boulez, in all movements except the fourth. Portraits in Rhythm and Portraits in Melody by Anthony J. Cirone, in Studies Nos. 12, 32, and 47. String Quartet No. 4 by Ben Johnston, in all parts except the Violin 1 part. Tzigane by Maurice Ravel, in four measures, the first of which is right before rehearsal 27. Valse à capriccio sur deux motifs de Lucia et Parisina, S. 401, written by Franz Liszt, contains a section in time in the right hand. Zipangu (1980) by Claude Vivier in several measures.Claude Vivier - Zipangu on Boosey and Hawkes. Retrieved 27 July 2022.

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. Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, in the movement Fortune plango vulnera. Charon by Richard Barrett, in bars 51 and 68. The Death of the Hired Man by Andrew Violette. Fantasy by Andrew Violette. Last Dance by Andrew Violette. Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger, in the fifth movement, "Lord Melbourne". Lonely Child (1980) by Claude Vivier, in several measures. Mädchentotenlieder, by Bo Nilsson, at bar 53. A Nightmare to Remember, by Dream Theater, in bar 31.Dream Theater Black Clouds and Silver Linings Authentic Guitar TAB. 2009, 7. On an Overgrown Path, by Leoš Janáček, for two bars in the third movement. Piano Sonata No. 1 by Charles Wuorinen, at bar 84 of part 1. Piano Sonata no. 2 by Roger Sessions, at bar 223. Piano Sonata No. 3 by Carlos Chávez, at bar 165 of the second movement.Chávez 1972, 12. Pli selon pli by Pierre Boulez, in the first and fourth movements. Portraits in Rhythm and Portraits in Melody by Anthony J. Cirone, in Studies Nos. 12, 16, and 47. A próle do bébé, Book 2 by Heitor Villa-Lobos. The fifth piece, "O Cavalinho de páu" (The Little Wooden Horse), bar 68 is in time. String Trio, Op. 20 by Anton Webern, in the beginning of the second movement. Symphony No. 3 by Arnold Bax, at rehearsal mark 3 of the first movement.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bars 49 and 82. Five Chromatic Dances for piano by William Albright, in the fifth dance (parenthesized). Five Little Pieces by Peter Maxwell Davies, in the fourth piece. Mädchentotenlieder, by Bo Nilsson, at bar 11. Piano Sonata no. 2 by Roger Sessions, at measure 257. Portraits in Rhythm and Portraits in Melody by Anthony J. Cirone, in Studies Nos. 45 and 47.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bars 9, 27, 56, and 69. Contrapunctus by Mark Andre. Mädchentotenlieder, by Bo Nilsson, in bar 9. Piano Sonata No. 1 by Charles Wuorinen, in bar 43 of part 1.

"A Headache And A Sixty-Fourth", from Ron Jarzombek's album Solitarily Speaking of Theoretical Confinement, has a constant time signature pattern of and .

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. 5 Motets by Peter Maxwell Davies. Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830, by Johann Sebastian Bach. The last movement, a gigue, is in in the Bischoff edition; however, the symbol (the mensuration sign for "tempus perfectum, prolatio minor, diminutum") appears in the first edition of 1731, and = in the autograph manuscript. This time signature is unusual for gigues, which are usually in or . Piano Sonata No. 3 by Sigfrid Karg-Elert, in one measure. Pli selon pli by Pierre Boulez, in the first and third movements. Russian Easter Festival Overture by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, from measure 661 to the end.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bar 75. Comme le vent, first of the Douze études dans toutes les tons mineurs, Op. 39, by Charles-Valentin Alkan. Douze études pour Caisse-Claire by Jacques Delécluse, in some measures of the last piece. Five Little Pieces by Peter Maxwell Davies, in the fourth piece. Pli selon pli by Pierre Boulez, in the first movement. Portraits in Rhythm and Portraits in Melody by Anthony J. Cirone, in Studies Nos. 16, 17, 24, 32, 39, 45, and 47. Requiem Canticles by Igor Stravinsky, for the last measure of the Prelude. The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. is used in the concluding "Sacrificial Dance".

Sketch, Op. 1 No. 10, by Alexei Stanchinsky.

Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bar 47.

Upper number of 3

Chaconne in D major by Samuel Capricornus. 5 Motets by Peter Maxwell Davies. "O Fortuna" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana (first four bars). Passacaglia in D minor by Johann Philipp Krieger. Piano Sonata No. 3 by Sigfrid Karg-Elert, in one measure. Poème des Montagnes, Op. 15 by Vincent d'Indy, in the first and last movements. Rosary Sonatas, by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, for part of No. 11. Symphony No. 3 by Camille Saint-Saëns, in two sections (a total of 22 bars) at the end of the finale. Symphony No. 4 by Charles Ives. "Um Mitternacht" by Gustav Mahler (Rückert-Lieder No. 5). Bar 27 is marked " ()". Russian Easter Festival Overture by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, measure 668. Iubilum, Symphonic Celebration by Alberto Ginastera, in bars 198 and 202 of the third movement.

Abraham and Isaac by Igor Stravinsky. Apollo by Igor Stravinsky, near rehearsal mark 23. Bicinium by Charles Wuorinen, at bars 1, 6, 11, 18, 23, 40, 50, 54, 58, 74, and 83.

Cantata No. 1 by Anton Webern, in the second movement. 20 Caprices and Rhythmic Studies, by Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in No. 10. Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments by Igor Stravinsky, after rehearsal mark 39. Concerto for Two Pianos by Igor Stravinsky, in the second movement. Concerto in E-flat by Igor Stravinsky has a measure of + a few measures after rehearsal mark 4. Donna Diana Overture, by Emil von Reznicek. Douze études pour Caisse-Claire by Jacques Delécluse, in some measures of the last piece. Five Chromatic Dances for piano by William Albright, near the end of the third dance (parenthesized).