How do I learn magic?

July 15, 2006 6:51 PM

I want to learn magic.

All the posts tagged with 'magic' are either about (1) specific tricks, (2) the history of magic tricks, or (3) Magic: The Gathering, at least as far as I can see. (Knowing me, I'm probably wrong...)

So I'm wondering: if someone wanted to actually learn to perform magic, what would be the best way to go about it? Would the recommended course be different if one were interested casually versus professionally? Is there a good way to start/practice on the cheap (websites) or is some investment necessary (books, equipment)?

I'd like to start slow and see if I enjoy it or I'm good at it. Secondary question: what are the traits that make a 'good' magician and require practice? (Manual dexterity? Performing ability?) Are

posted by spiderwire to sports, hobbies, & recreation (10 comments total)

A good place to start is googling up some magic for kids. I learned a few really good "tricks" there. This may sound lame, but it's not. If you can work some of the feats with kids, they will be your best critics and you will be able to refine your act very quickly.

It only took me a week or two to really mess with people at work after having practiced with my kids. This will at least give you an opportunity to see if you like it.
posted by snsranch at 7:18 PM on July 15, 2006

The best way is through a combination of reading, watching videos and being mentored by one or more existing magicians.

But if you want a simple low-risk, inexpensive way to get started then buy one of the following books, or get them from your library:

The Royal Road to Card Magic by Hugard and Braue, available in a very inexpensive Dover publication. Card magic only.

Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. The best all-round introduction to all kinds of magic.

Card College Volume 1 by Roberto Giobbi. The entire set of 5 books is a more detailed, more modern version of the Royal Road to Card Magic, but is also more expensive.

Modern Coin Magic by Bobo. Coin magic only.

Any one of these books will get you started, and there are magic techniques and tricks in them that are used by professional magicians today. I can give you a list of videos if you want too.

If you are lucky enough to be anywhere near a magic shop, buy your books there, along with a deck of cards if that's the way you go. You don't have to spend money to hang out, and you'll meet magicians there, many of whom are also beginners.

Regarding the traits that make a good magician, natural dexterity is not a requirement, although it wouldn't hurt. Mainly you need to be willing to practice doing specific manual moves until you achieve some technical proficiency. (There are magicians who use very little compex dexterity in their professional work, but you will need some, and you'll be a leg up if you get good.)

You would also need to develop some kind of entertaining persona - this is the same for comedians, singers, magicians and most of the performing arts. You need to be good at what you do, and likeable to the audience for some other reason as well. You could buy one additional book, Magic and Showmanship by Henning Nelms, also available as a cheap Dover book, to help you with performance aspects, but you probably don't need that until you find out whether you enjoy magic or not.

All magicians would agree that the worst way to start is to buy a bunch of one-off store-bought tricks - start with books, which are cheap and are packed with information.
posted by lockedroomguy at 7:19 PM on July 15, 2006

As someone who's done exactly what you're aspiring to do, here's my advice:

First, the best way -- and I mean the best -- is to know a magician who's willing to give you some personal guidance. Since you're asking this here, I assume you don't. That's OK -- I didn't either. But keep it in mind for the future. Once you gain some abilities, consider going to guild meetings.

That said, there's going to be a small investment necessary. Card magic is probably the easiest way to get started. The props are inexpensive, and there are innumerable books and videos on the subject.

I highly recommend you stick to using Bicycle brand cards. Cheaper brands are not nearly as easy to work with, you'll only frustrate yourself. Aviator isn't bad either. Stay away from Bee -- the design on the back extends to the edges. You'll learn why this is bad.

Pick up the book The Royal Road to Card Magic by Hugard and Braue. It's inexpensive, and is considered by many magicians to be the beginner's bible of card magic. The patter (the spoken parts of the routines) are a bit dated, so you'll need to come up with your own patter. This isn't a bad thing.

Go through the book from beginning to end and practice, practice, practice. Magic is 90% practice and only 10% physical skill. Trust me when I say that you can practice a trick a hundred times alone, and when you try to perform it, you clam up. You need to know with 100% confidence that you can perform every part of a trick.

Mirrors are very useful for practice, but a video camera or high-resolution webcam is even more useful. When practicing in front of a mirror, you'll catch yourself about to make a mistake, and correct it before you do. This leads to you thinking you're better than you are. Instead, if you can, record yourself, and play back the tape while looking for accidental exposure. It's a little weird performing for nobody, especially for tricks involving audience participation, but it's essential.

Find yourself a friend who doesn't mind having the secrets of magic exposed to him. When you discover many of the secrets, it's actually very disappointing. It turns something magical and mysterious into something petty and mundane. But you need a real person to practice for before you ever perform for a general audience, even if it's just friends. In fact, people who don't like magic make the best practice buddies, because they're usually the most critical. Plus, there's no better satisfaction than mystifying one of them.

Not many people know this, because not many people know the secrets behind most magic. But everything a magician does during a trick -- the words he says, his posture, the angle he holds his body at, every motion of his hands and arms, every step he takes, every action he requests of the audience -- even the things that seem spontaneous are actually very, very carefully scripted and meticulously practiced.

Magicians are very much actors. The manual dexterity certainly takes some practice, but the performing ability is what separates an amateur from a professional.

Oh, and at the beginning -- avoid tricks that require gimmicks. You can amaze and astound people with nothing more than a deck of cards and your two hands. Once you have those skills down, you can explore the gimmicks.

Some other resources you'll want to look at:

Penguin Magic -- A lot of magicians don't like this store. Don't listen to them. They sell everything you need, and they sell it cheaply.
Born to Perform Card Magic by Oz Perlman -- Video by Penguin's "house magician." He's an excellent teacher, and this video shows you visually and step-by-step many of the concepts from Royal Road
Modern Coin Magic by J. B. Bobo -- Don't let the title fool you, it was written in 1952. However, it is to coin magic what Royal Road is to card magic.

If you have more questions, by all means post them here or email me at the address in my profile. I'll be happy to lend advice or guidance.
posted by CrayDrygu at 7:20 PM on July 15, 2006 [2 favorites has favorites]

Regarding the traits that make a good magician, natural dexterity is not a requirement, although it wouldn't hurt.

This reminds me...this is a very important point. Though a degree of manual dexterity is important, it's something that you will build and develop, and become better at as time goes on.

What's more important is learning misdirection. It's something that, too, will come with time and practice, and will come easier the more confident you are with the tricks you perform.

I've gotten away with some really, really sloppy sleights just because I knew people weren't looking. It's truly amazing what you can get away with right in front of people. I mean things like putting down the card you're holding and picking up a different one, and they don't see you do it.
posted by CrayDrygu at 7:24 PM on July 15, 2006

Sorry, that's assuming you might have kids at hand. But the kid tricks are useful anyway.
posted by snsranch at 7:27 PM on July 15, 2006

Check out ellusionist.
posted by isopropyl at 9:28 PM on July 15, 2006

Magic is misdirection.

Misdirection is mainly helping your audience believe what they want to believe anyway.
posted by paulsc at 9:34 PM on July 15, 2006

As a lover of magic and an actor might I suggest when you are confident as a magician that you take a theatre course? At least take a basic course and get comfortable putting on a performance in front of an audience. Speech class might also be a good.

The only reason I say this is because I completely feel that it's the performance, not the trick, that makes a great magician.
posted by freudianslipper at 10:00 PM on July 15, 2006

CrayDrygu's advice is all great. I haven't kept up with my slight of hand for years now, but if that's the direction you find yourself attracted to, I'd found Bill Tarr's "Now You See It, Now You Don't" Series of book to be the best at explaining the moves (though there aren't a lot of actual tricks.) And I think the magic books of Harry Loyrane, which you'll have to track down from magic specialty shops, to be the best. His "Close Up Card Magic" is full of fantastic, pro-level tricks, all done with ordinary decks. It's not a beginners book, but it's a classic.

And I'll add this piece of advice, which I've found applies to a lot of endeavors-

What is the difference between a professional magician and an amateur? There are amateur magicians every bit as skilled as the pros. But the professional magician gets to show the same twenty tricks to different people each night, while the amateur has come up with different tricks to show the same twenty people.
posted by bendybendy at 5:58 AM on July 16, 2006

Good answers. Sorry it took me a while to get back to this. :)
posted by spiderwire at 4:54 PM on July 17, 2006