Can a song have two time signatures?

[Caysi]

Beast and the harlot, 6/8, 9/8, 4/4 IIRC
you can have different time signatures just like you can have diferent tempo's etc. making it flow may get tricky, but if you can do it and it sounds good, go for it.

[Sleep Distance]

I actually enjoy songs where the writer keeps it interesting by using time signatures other than the usual 4/4, and changes the time signature within the song.
I also like when bands like King Crimson play songs in which different instruments in the band are playing in differrent time signatures at the same time.
And I like when a song throws in an odd chord (but one that sounds right) rather than just staying completely diatonic.

The trick is not to make is sound like you switched stations on your radio, unless that is the effect you're intentionally going after. Generally if the tempo stays about the same when transitioning into a new section of a song, it should sound OK even if the time signature changes. If the instrumentation stays more or less the same, that also makes for more continuity, and avoids that feeling that completely separate and different pieces of music have been spliced together.

[MaliceX]

Jazz, some (prog) rock bands, yes they do this all the time. Certain Japanese composers do it quite regularly too.

I think the most well known example would be "Tool - Schism"

or Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds - "Thunderchild"

[aMUSEd]

Of course, Ives' fourth symphony uses so many simultaneous time signatures that for its first performance they needed three conductors.

And it's just wonderfully exhilarating to listen to.

[Darwinist]

Indeed you can play more than one time signature at a time - it's called a polymetric rhythm. Some bands make a career out of doing just that, like one of my all-time faves Meshuggah.

From wiki:

In a typical polyrhythm by Meshuggah, the guitars might play in odd meters such as 5/16 or 17/16, while drums play in normal 4/4.[20] Haake also uses dual 4/4 and 23/16 rhythm. He keeps the hi-hat and ride cymbal in simple 4/4 time but uses the snare and double bass drums for 23/16 rhythm.[6][30] On "Rational Gaze" (from Nothing), Haake plays simple 4/4 time, hitting the snare on each third beat, for 16 bars. At the same time, the guitars and bass are playing the same quarter notes, albeit in a different time signature, and eventually both sides meet up again at the 64th beat.[24] Hagström notes about the polyrhythms "We've never really been into the odd time signatures we get accused of using. Everything we do is based around a 4/4 core. It's just that we arrange parts differently around that center to make it seem like something else is going on."[2]

[Dean Aka Nekro]

Of course! try some prog but you can have the guitars for example in a different time sig to the drums but after around say four or eight bars it comes around again: a common trick in 'tech' metal

Just one example, bad sound quality but you get the idea:

http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=ej0IvG5Vy ... re=related

Better sound quality and much better example:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Xz5fDwSjk&NR=1

and another:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1TImErpka ... re=related



A slower example

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EBLjLV8AG ... re=related

And bit faster and a bit of fun:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4A_tSyJBs ... re=related

also look for a band called 'ion dissonance' for another example

Edit: Ion Dissonance: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zItj3x_FcA8

And now just going insane! this guys is a sheer head f**k

Psyopus:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiYwKO88 ... re=related

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=agnGv_2gm ... re=related

For time sigs and tracks which flow check 'Opeth' out

And sorry for the edits

[Melkor]

Another famous example of polyrhythm is Zeps "Kashmir"