In his autobio he talked about a pianist he played with in the 1940s (I forget the name but he had a Wikipedia article and seemed a legit musician in his own right) who often lost the time. Like, from Milesā mouth that sounded like one of the worst possible things ever a musician could do, especially if it became a habit of sorts; even worse than occasionally playing a wrong note.
Interesting topic.
I think there has to be something special about beat 1, since we are generally able to easily identify it when listening to a song. This seems to be true regardless of the time signature and the underlying drum pattern (or otherwise, the accents played on the various beats).
Iām surprised that nobody has mentioned chord changes yet. Chord changes occur on beat 1 more than any other beat and this is what I believe allows us to identify beat 1 when listening and what makes beat 1 different from the other beats.
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@jjw
Thatās right, John, chord changes on one.
Other things happen on one as well. But they donāt just happen, theyāre timed to land on one.
It all goes into building the importance and unique sound of beat1.
My first thought was: Itās your home base.
You can go in any direction from thereā¦ to another rhythm, another chord, a melody, or improvise around a pattern - naturally you repeat your short trails around your home before you look for another one ā¦ but you come back to your home anyway 
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Couldnāt agree more. Regardless of the time sig everything has to start on beat one form an overall song perspective, so I donāt see it as special, its just a place to start. In fact you could start a song with a pick up phase, played on 4 & A 1, does that make the 4 special or the 1 special ? But every song will pulse from the 1 once it gets going from a Bass and Drum perspective and that the engine house.
Reggae accents the & so in that regard they are special. @Richard_close2u often recommends playing a licks on different beats, not just the 1, try 2 or 3 or 4 or any e & a in between to get a different feel or phrasing. So in a way all the beats and sub beats are special but its down to context. Its all about where and when you want the accent.
What is so special about beat 1 ? Nothing IMHO its just the start of another bar. Simples,
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@TheMadman_tobyjenner
Toby, I started this thread because I believe that beat1 is special and I asked for others views to find out if they agree.
So far, it seems that not many do!
That hasnāt changed my mind though. When I listen to music, I hear what I hear. When people who donāt play listen to music they hear what they hear too. They donāt think about bars, they donāt think about chords or notes or licks or 1 2 3 4 or any of that theory stuff - they hear what they hear and dance or sing or tap their feet or handsā¦.they hear the pulse and go with it. The music is in a continuous flow. It moves on from the pulse and returns to it with constant regularity.
As players, we bring in the theory and terminology and the pulse becomes beat1
As a learner, I use theory to help me learn and understand but Iām aware that itās the sound of what I play thatās important, not the theory of how I get to the sound. Iām also aware that my sound has to revolve around the pulse - beat1
The pick ups you mention are a lead-in to beat1. The start of the phrase usually isnāt accented, the accent will be on beat1.
Moving your licks to start mid-bar can turn the start of it into a lead-in and the accent moves to mid-lick or to the end of it. As you say, that will give it a different feel - and sound! Fascinating!
That sort of thing is a bit beyond me at the moment, Iām just starting to learn licks (2)! and still learning to bend it like Beckham!
Lyrics work in a similar way, lead-ins and then key words falling on beat1 where they are held and/or accented.
Soā¦.it all revolves around beat1 All of these things are why I say itās special.
Okay, so all of that is my take. It doesnāt matter that you and others have a different take.
Different thinking and approaches lead us to developing our own ways andā¦.dare I say itā¦our own voice!
Thank you for your post Toby.
Responding to it has made me think about it some more and re-enforced my view.
Beat one where would we be without it!
Just a thought: you say a lot of things āstartā on beat 1 (chords, lyrics, ā¦). Does everything start at beat 1 because itās āspecialā, or is beat 1 āspecialā because al these things happen at that point? As far as Iām concerned, thereās nothing āspecialā about a beat where different stuff happens - itās just a starting point.
As Toby already said, the āpulseā isnāt always on beat 1. The same goes for the start of lyrics: a hell of a lot of lyrics start before beat 1. And Iām sure there are other examples.
You asked for peoples opinions then disagreed with every one of them trying to get them to agree with your opinion.
We get it you think beat one is special.
We wouldnāt have beats 2 3 or 4 so I guess we wouldnāt have rhythm.
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@LadyOfTheCastle
Thatās a chicken and egg question, Els. 
Read my reply to Toby about where melody/licks/lyrics start and land.
@Tbushell
I donāt use that āAIā malarkey, Tom.
Itās interesting what it says though.
For balance, how about asking it the same question for other beats?
@stitch
Okay Rick, over to you. You show me how to turn this into a discussion rather than a list of opinions and disagreements.
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I think the discussions came to a conclusion with the general consensus that the only significance of beat 1 over the other beats is that itās the first beat in the measure/bar and without beat 1 we would be in free time. I donāt think youāre going to be able to convince anyone otherwise, fair play for trying. Back to the 12 bar blues for meā¦ 1, 2, 3, 4ā¦2, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 3, 4ā¦
Not really. Things have to start somewhere, and logically, and some exceptions notwithstanding, thatās at ā1ā. Itās not the 1 that you think is āspecialā, itās just the fact that itās a starting point that gives it a key role.
So I agree with @stitch and a bunch of others here: thereās nothing special about the 1 - itās just the first, there would be nothing if there wasnāt a 1. But itās nothing more āspecialā than that either.
No no. Thatās what YOU think, not what I think!
The only important beat 1 is the very first in the song, regardless of time signature. It just say start here and lock in the rhythm until the end. Accents can be on any beat or sub beat, licks can start and end on any beat and ring out across the remainder of the bar or even two bars. If you move a lick that runs for a bar in 4/4 for example to start on beat 3 of the bar you wonāt be accenting the next beat 1, the end of the lick will fall on beat 2 and that will sound special. Youāll see this more when you learn more licks and experiment with their placement. But hey if it special to you that is all that matters. YMMV. Hope you have fun learning those licks it will open up a whole new world. 
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Hi David, Iām sure thereās something special about beat 1 that Iām not able to understandā¦to me beat 1 is the trickiest whenever the bar is longer than 2/4. My mental Rhythm calculation is this bad 
Iām sorry I canāt contribute much but I canāt hear any distinctive unmistakable soundā¦I can ear well beat 1 only when thereās a clear change in the harmonyā¦no matter how much I work on my Rhythm itās still challenging to some degreeā¦and no doubt about it beat one is the trickiest to me!
Butā¦Davidā¦if you feel something special for beat one than thereās something special about itā¦it doesnāt need to be an objective thingā¦you feel it and you give it your own meaning! It doesnāt have to be something objectiveā¦ but I hope you keep on with your individual research and, if you want, try to put it down into words.
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Exactly! And if itās not special to anyone elseā¦well hey ho!
Life gave me a kick in the teeth and it affected me in a way that I didnāt expect so the only learning Iām doing at the mo is through listening to music and I like what Iāve found. I thought Iād share it here but it seems to have gone down like a lead balloon. It doesnāt deter me though, I know where Iām going when I get back to guitar. Iāll learn them licks and play around and make music out of em!
Hi Silvia!
Well there you go - differences!
I CAN hear a distinctive sound on beat1
When you are listening to a song do you tap your foot or fingers to the beat?
Are you able to find beat1 and count along with the rhythm?
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Just donāt clap on the 1 and the 3 
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I think what you have discovered is timing. Having good timing and rhythm lets you know when each bar starts. Hence your use of the word special.
Iāve alway been a big advocate of listening to music, not just hearing it. You said so yourself youāve been Mindful listening to music and had an epiphany a moment that opened you to a new experience. You figured out how to follow the rhythm. Where you when off the rails was thinking you where the only one on the planet that understood this.
Call it special if you like. Iām happy for you having discovered misic isnāt just one long sentence but donāt tell others they are wrong for not sharing your opinion.