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Agree with both! I think it's a habit I developed but never really tried to correct until now. I was always in the habit of "lets start of the session with what is almost polished/already polished as it feels easier and fun" then I get tired and do 5 min on new parts haha.

+1 re Bennevis.

Not quite on the topic but effective openings of my improvisations are uncommon. Other people tell me otherwise but most of them strike me as weak. I don’t much like endings either but at least they are improving with age. The thing is I never know what is going to happen until I strike the first notes and by then it is too late, the juggernaut is released for better or worse.

If one occasionally starts at the beginning of a piece and plays through it until one reaches a section one wants to spend a lot of time on, this will not necessarily mean, as some have stated, that one has played the beginning more than other sections. That depends on how many times one practices the other sections. So if one enjoys starting at the beginning, I see no problem with that as long as one doesn't do that all the time. Occasionally starting at the beginning may mean one has spent unnecessary time practicing part(s) of a piece one knows well, but most amateurs can well afford a few extra minutes of "wasted" practice time if they enjoy the experience.

I believe you are missing the point: a lot of beginners have the habit of starting at the beginning every time they sit down to practice the piece. The habit needs to be broken, and then they can start deciding on when it is appropriate. The problem is that progress in the piece becomes very lopsided, and the piece may be abandoned as so much time had been spent ‘working on it’ (but playing from the beginning). We all get Prostrated if we don’t see progress but yet you’re not really going to see progress if you just go through the parts that are In good shape

Not at all. I was very careful to say "occasionally starts at the beginning", "doesn't do it all the time", etc. I certainly never suggested only going through the parts in good shape. It's definitely true that sometimes starting from the beginning will not necessarily mean, as some have stated, that one has played the beginning more than other sections. For a very young student or pianist of any age without too much self control or the ability to judge which passages need work, specifically telling them not to start at the beginning once that part is learned could be beneficial, but for most others I don't think it's necessary. There's a very wide gulf between always starting at the beginning and never starting at the beginning once that part is learned.

One thing that has helped me is to memorize from the end. So I memorize the last line or measure, then back up one and play to the end, etc. That way as I play from memory, my confidence in the piece just gets stronger.

Another tip--this one from "Playing the Piano for Pleasure"--is to take those difficult or weak spots and totally break them down. I will find the heart of the difficult spot, then play those two beats until they are perfect. Then I back up one beat and go further one beat. I know this deliberate practice drives some people crazy (especially those listening to me), but I find it totally engrossing to play these places over and over until all hesitancy is lost.

This definitely works for me when jumping from one part of the keyboard to another. One teacher told me he could hear that slight hesitation as I was about to land, so I needed to just land anywhere and then adjust. This worked for me. I eventually stopped the hesitation and found the right notes on the first try.

Finally, writing down what I do makes a huge difference. I end every practice session with a note about what I want to do the next day. That way I am not tempted to start at the beginning to see what the problems are; I just go to my notebook and start where I told myself to.

But couldn't one argue that this would mean your confidence nearer the beginning is weaker?

I think this is relevant and here is why. If you can play the first 4 or 8 bars of a piece musically and beautifully, that will help give you confidence as you proceed further into the piece. The importance of nailing the beginning and ending of pieces was brought to my attention by an article in Pianist a few years ago and has been reinforced by a teacher I see every year for a week. If you are performing - even if it is for your amateur piano buddies - it it important to grab their attention at the beginning and finish with a flourish.

That is not to say that all the bars in between should not be polished too. But, if I’m planning to perform a piece I spend a lot of time on those opening bars, recording myself and then refining.

I think all bars of a piece are important. To me, placing greater emphasis on the beginning and end sounds somewhat amateurish.

I disagree. All bars are important, but the opening and closing bars are extra- important.

Actually I have received the ‘beginning and ‘ending’ advice more than once from professional, highly educated pianists.

And my three teachers were all highly educated professional pianists and never said the beginning and ending bars are more important.

There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between. - Sir Thomas Beecham

…if it helps, in my recent feedback from my performance exam, the examiner noted on number of pieces how s/he loved the way I ended the piece. It wasn’t something I was that focused on, but going forward..it will be! Yes, the last measures are important.