Scott writes:
‘One thing I am having trouble with at the moment is the muscle pass. I have tried to learn it to make my coin magic more interesting, however, I can’t get the hang of it. I can palm the coin OK and make it ‘pop’ only very slightly. How would you recommend I go about mastering this technique, as it’s something I think would look really awesome as part of a routine.’
Scott, you have to keep going with this move. Don’t quit. It is commonly regarded as the most difficult sleight of hand coin move to master, taking around 1-2 years to master completely. However, you will start to see some results after just a few weeks work. The real secret of how to do the muscle pass is not to give up.
A few tips for how to do the muscle pass more effectively.
The muscle pass was originally known as the anti-gravity coin. It involves shooting a coin up from your palm anywhere from a few inches to over two feet. Lets look at how to do the muscle pass easily.
1) Which coin to use.
Start practicing with a poker chip at first. It’s lighter than a coin and has well defined edges.
Large coins are easier than small ones. A UK 50 or £2 coin makes good practice coins, or a US Dollar coin. The aim is to develop your hand, so the larger coin will help to speed this up.
2) Practice.
The key to this move is to practice every day, as you need to build up the muscle tone in your hand. Committing to 10-15 minutes a day will bring on very fast progress. Remember to stop if your hand starts to hurt, as you want to avoid straining your hand. Short, frequent practice sessions are what you should aim for.
3) Stages of development.
- Stage 1: A redness forms when you have the coin in position and are trying to make it “pop” up.
- Stage 2: You may find that the coin just flops out of your grip. Keep going..
- Stage 3: You notice the coin pop out of your grip and simply flip over 180 degrees.
- Stage 4: Over time the calluses and muscle ache will go and you’ll find you don’t need to grip as hard as you thought in order to make the coin jump.
4) Popping to the left.
At first, the coin will start to slide to the left. That’s a good sign you are on the right track. Keep at it. Over time you will be able to make the coin flip over, again a good sign. As the muscles in your hand develop, you will start to be able to make the coin jump a little as you move out of the flipping stage of practice.
5) Callous
Over time you will slowly develop a small callous on the edge of your thumb muscle. This makes a huge difference to the move and reaching a good height. Because this takes a while to develop, many magicians give up, assuming that they will never be able to ‘pop’ the coin move than a few inches.
6) Go horizontal.
Many magicians find performing the pass horizontally rather than vertically easier at first. Making the coin jump from one hand to the other.
7) Clean and Dry.
Ensure that your hands are clean and dry. Moisture will make the coin to slide out of the palm grip and it will be much harder to make the coin jump.
8) The little finger
Remember not to allow your little finger to move. The only point of force should be from your thumb muscle.
9) What you are aiming for.
Your goal should be to reach a height of around a foot from your palm. At this point your other hand can be in a position to catch the coin at the top of its assent.
We recommend the following DVDs for a complete guide on how to do the muscle pass the correct way:
I can’t get the hang of it. I can Alex S palm the coin OK and make it ‘pop’ only very slightly.
I had this exact same problem until 2 weeks ago. I then experimented with position and now it works and I've already gained about 3 inches. I have it more towards the fingers and the thumb pad than when I do classic palm and that allows my thumb pad to actually form a mini pocket over the coin to trap it and build up pressure. I'm sure these things are covered in those DVDs but I just wanted to share this main point:
Experiment with the hand position – you might have it in the wrong position.
Great advice David. It’s the small details that make the difference between just doing the moves and mastering them. Slowing down your practice speed seems to be the best way to notice the difference a small ‘tweak’ can make.
Keep up the great work
Dominic
once you have mastered it, if you stop doing it for a month or so, will you lose the ability to do it?
With the muscle pass, what risks are there of developing ‘trigger finger’ and what can be done to prevent this, as that is primarily what has been restraining me from frequent practise.
It’s a great party trick, I use Ritz crackers and pop them up into my mouth, the problem is getting the salmon dip splashed in my eyes, it’s always something.
R.L.Hamm
I must admit I have trouble MPing our UK currency, even the £2. I can launch the half crowns a few inches, however what really flies for me are poker chips, the thinner and cheaper the better. They’re the right diameter and also much lighter than coins, so I can get the wafer-thin ones I use to go a couple of feet up.