How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

Dee Christopher – Is Something Missing in Your Magic Tricks Practice?

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Dee Christopher - Is something missing from magic practice? The traditional advice that Dee Christopher gives beginners is Practice, Practice Practice. But that’s not really the best advice. Practice is vital, and it’s the first step to better magic, but it’s only one part of the process for improving your magic tricks. A better line would be:

Practice, Practice, Perform.

Dee Christopher recorded this short video with his tip for beginners wanting to practice their magic:

Regardless of the advice that many magic books and teachers will tell you, every  secret to performing a magic trick isn’t given to you in magic books and videos. They teach the mechanics and touch on a particular performers style for presenting the magic trick, but that’s only a small part of the magic secret.

A magic book or DVD can never give you the whole story because magic happens LIVE, and live events are not predictable. There is no set pattern for how a spectator will interact with you, or how you will influence and engage an audience. There are too many variables to ever be predictable.

In the magic tricks performed by Dee Christopher, the lack of a set pattern in the presentation of a magic trick is even more evident. His chosen branch of magic is mind reading and mental powers demonstrated to the public. By its nature, mentalism is about interaction.

Dee Christopher can’t follow a simple recipe as the magic is created in the communication between the mentalist and the spectator. Dee Christopher understands this completely. He urges you to perform live as much as possible as that’s the secret of professional magicians. They practice the method to performance standard, but the real schooling happens when the magic tricks are shown to the public and audience tested.

The 3 Types of Magic Tricks Magicians Use at a Wedding

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Performing Magic tricks at a wedding - Best Tricks to UseMore and more people are looking to hire a magician for a wedding. That’s understandable as weddings are a perfect venue for magic to be presented.

Unlike many events, weddings have a traditional structure which dictates the course of events far more so than parties or corporate events. As a wedding magician, it’s important to understand the format of a wedding, and how it can influence the types of magic tricks you will need to use. In this post,  we look at the 3 main situations magicians experience at a wedding, and the types of magic that suit each situation.


 
Dominic Reyes talks about the three types of tricks he performs at weddings.

Dominic Reyes talks about the three types of tricks he performs at weddings.

 

The Drinks Reception.

The wedding guests have arrived after a formal ceremony, and this is their first chance to meet and catch up with each other. Drinks are being ordered, and people form into small groups which break off into new groups as people meet and greet each other. At the same time, photographs are being taken, and people are being called away to join the photographer.

Your job as a magician, is to ‘break the ice’. You mix with the guests, performing to small groups. The magic tricks that work well in this situation tend to be:

  • Short.
  • Easy to follow.
  • Create a magical event early in the trick.
  • Can be abridged if a group is called away.
  • Has multiple points where new spectators can join and still understand the plot.

Guests will be joining the group, waiters will be passing around canapes, and guests will be called away to join a photograph group. The goal is to entertain, encourage guests in small groups to join into a larger group to watch the magic and in doing so, get an introduction to each other.

Ideally, props should be kept to a minimum. A deck of cards, some coins, some magicians business cards, and a sharpie should give you everything you need to work the room.

The drinks reception is the ‘opener’ performance for the magician. You establish your skills, show that you are fun and entertaining and leave the guests wanting more.

This is a great time to assess the guests, noting which groups are the most responsive. You can use that information to great effect when you meet them again at the tables.

The Wedding Breakfast.

Some clients like their magician to perform for the guests that have made it through the wedding line and are seated. Others prefer for the magic to start once the bride and groom have made their formal entrance and been applauded. Find this information out ahead of time so you know in advance when to approach the tables. Your magic tricks for the wedding breakfast can have a longer plot and be more demanding on the spectators. The table is your stage and the audience are seated, ready to watch your magic in the 4 or 5 minutes you are with them between a course.

The goal at their tables is to involve everyone. Present to the whole table, not just the guests on the side you are standing. Ask questions, address people around the whole table, and choose a spot that is the most visible for everyone seated.

This is the part of your performance where you can really shine. Present the magic you are most proud of, and build to an applause cue.

The Evening Reception.

The evening reception turns back into strolling magic. New guests arrive, and those groups can be shown material that you performed during the drinks reception. New guests gravitate to the bar area, so spending some time there, will allow you to meet most of the new guests very quickly.

The ‘all day guests’ may stay at their tables, go off to get changed or move to the bar or outside grounds. Travel around the venue as much as possible, revisiting the most responsive guests, the bridal group and the new arrivals.

You will be competing with loud music, low lighting and alcohol fueled guests, so pick magic tricks that are easy to follow, interruptible, and don’t require the spectators to remember too many things. Add in a set of tricks that don’t require verbal instructions or patter. These tricks are tools you can pull out when you perform to a group near the DJ or dance floor.

A Backup

Sometimes things will be a little different. The format of the day changes, the guests all form one large group or you are asked to do extra time. Keep a few tricks back as ‘reserve back up’ These can be pulled out if you find you burn through your material and then get suddenly asked to return to a group at the end of the night, or need to do another sweep of rooms for 30 minutes at the end. Always make sure you have something none of the guests have seen, ready as a backup trick.

DO THIS: Make a note of the three performing situations at weddings. List your working material and group them into these 3 types. If you find one list is longer than the other, what could you do to modify or adapt some of the tricks to build in the qualities needed for a different situation?

The Best Rubber Band Tricks – Top 5 Rating/Reviews

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The Top 5 Best Rubber Band Tricks Rubber band tricks have always been popular with magicians. We are going to look at the top 5 best sources for learning magic tricks using rubber bands.

We will suggest the best teaching for general rubber band tricks and also the best method for performing the linking rubber bands trick.

Why perform magic tricks with rubber bands?

Being able to perform magic with an ordinary object is powerful. The practical advantages of being able to wear a few rubber bands on your wrist, and being ready to perform anywhere at any time is a big draw to magicians. With the popularity of street magic in recent years, it’s never been a better time to learn a few rubber band tricks.

How do magicians start learning rubber band tricks?

A rubber band trick called Crazy Man’s Handcuffs tends to get most magicians hooked on rubber band tricks. Crazy man’s handcuffs is the penetration of rubber bands stretched between the forefinger and thumb of each hand. Invented by Arthur Setterington and first in print in New Pentagram (May 1970) under the name “Getaway’.

The technique was later refined by Herb Zarrow and it was republished in the Tarbell Course in Magic

Daryl came up with the name “The Crazy Man’s Handcuffs” and Michael Ammar released a booklet teaching the moves that became a best seller worldwide with magicians. Since then, rubber band magic has become more and more popular, with most close up magicians ensuring that they know at least one or two rubber band tricks.

Here are the best 5 sources for rubber band tricks currently available to magicians. We took several factors into account when choosing the best of the best list.

  • Easy of use
  • Practicality of performance
  • Magicians Reviews
  • Customer feedback from The Merchant of Magic
  • Feedback from magic shop demonstrators
  • Popularity and sales volume

The best general rubber band tricks.

These are the 3 best sources for learning general rubber band tricks. Each gives a good grounding in technique and a wide range of tricks.

Rubber band Series by Dan Harlan – DVD

Rubber Band Tricks - Dan HarlanDan Harlan is regarded as the king of rubber band tricks. He is credited with being the force behind the modern resurgence of rubber band magic tricks. Before Rubber band Volume 1, rubber band tricks tended to be presented as puzzles, or single tricks, Dan organized material into sections featuring complementary techniques to form fully developed rubber band tricks into professional, complete magic routines. There are more techniques, subtleties, even flourishes on these DVD’s than anyone could imagine. Dan gives a great way to have a balances and wide range of magic using the bands.

Rubber Band Magic (2 DVD Set) – By Greg Moreland

Rubber Band Tricks - Greg MorelandGreg Moreland has a great reputation as a magic teacher, and his DVD on rubber band tricks is a great example of this skill. Greg guides you through the techniques in a way that makes learning to handle the bands much easier than you think. The DVD teaches 22 rubber band tricks and features Concise, easy to follow instructions, live footage of the tricks in action, and performance tips.

Extreme Rubber Band Magic Joe Rindfleisch, DVD

Rubber Band Tricks - Joe RindfleischFor magicians who don’t shy away from hard work, Joe Rindfleisch has released a collection of rubber band tricks  that takes it one step further. As well as the classic penetrations and broken band restorations, Joe presents advanced mini-acts for close up magicians. This DVD makes a good ‘next step, after you have mastered the core techniques in band magic.

The best linking rubber bands tricks:
These sources provide the best tuition for linking rubber bands tricks. We have picked a gimmicked version and also an impromptu ungimmicked method.

SLR – Souvenir Linking Rubber Bands – By Paul Harris

Rubber Bands Tricks - Paul HarrisGimmicked Version – The Paul Harris Presents label goes hand in hand with high production values and useable material. SLR teaches gimmicked versions of the linking rubber bands tricks. It requires specially gimmicked rubber bands, which may put off many magicians, but the ability to hand out the linked rubber bands at the end of the trick, makes the downside worth living with. Very visual and once the technique has been worked on, it’s quick and easy to perform.

Melting Point by Casshan Wallace 

Melting Point - Rubber Band Magic TricksImpromptu Version – Casshan Wallace has brought some very clever thinking to the classic Crazy Man’s Handcuffs rubber band magic trick. This is the best looking linking rubber bands trick we have ever seen, and being impromptu, using normal bands, we think it’s the best choice. Just seeing melting point in action will convince you of how much of an improvement Casshan has contributed to the linking rubber bands.

 

Which do the Merchant of Magic Recommend?

When magicians as us to give an opinion on the best source for learning general rubber band tricks, we suggest Greg Moreland’s DVD set. If a magician asks about learning the linking rubber bands, we point them to Melting Point by Casshan Wallace.