How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

I don’t know what magic secrets exposure means anymore

by Merchant of Magic Leave a Comment

By Paul Osborne

Exposure. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? When I was a lad [picture me walking up a hill carrying a bread loaf while Dvorak’s New World Symphony is playing – now there’s a reference for the teenagers] magic secrets exposure was an easy concept to understand. From my very first magic book – How to be a Conjurer by Robert Harbin – the rules of magic were clearly laid out: Never tell anyone how a trick is done, the author wrote.


However, even in those dark days before the internet, the waters were sometimes muddied. I remember Paul Daniels being criticised for including tricks such as the Chinese Linking Rings and the Rice Bowls in his magic sets, with some magicians saying that Paul was exposing these classics of magic to children.
And then, a few years later, those “bad boys of magic”, Penn and Teller, crashed onto the scene. Most of you will have noticed, in my opening line, the nod to Teller’s sublime smoking routine where classic sleight-of-hand moves are explained to the viewing audience. As a teenager, watching their first TV special, I thought, “well, this will annoy a lot of magicians, but, what the hell. I love it.”


Teller has often spoken about the duo’s approach to exposure: that most of their audience probably had a magic set as a child, that most people know what a “palm” is, and that, sometimes, a routine can still blow your mind even if you’re in on it. Check out their version of the cups and balls using clear plastic cups for proof of this. (Dai Vernon witnessed them perform this effect live and laughed his head off, according to Teller; The Professor ‘getting’ what they were doing.)


Today, social media is awash with magicians and hobbyists performing tricks and then exposing the method, and many have been criticised for doing so. But I think the argument is more nuanced than it seems.


Mentalist Spidey, who puts out many magic tutorial videos on YouTube, addressed some of his critics on the Magicians Talking Magic podcast. He said: “There’s a difference between magic secrets exposure and teaching magic. I see a lot of YouTube videos with a child who learned a trick last week, barely knows how to hold the cards, and is exposing the secret to the trick. And I don’t like that.

“I teach magic. Everything on my channel is either something I created, or something I adapted, or something that’s so old-as-the-hills that nobody could claim ownership to it. My videos, on average, are 14 to 18 minutes, and you’re learning one trick. And by the time you get to the tutorial, we’re about eight or nine minutes into the video. My average view is six to seven minutes. So most people have left the video before I even get to the secret.


“It’s all by design. It starts with me talking about the trick, then I do the performance, then I talk about the history of the trick, and then we go into the tutorial which is taught slowly and effectively. I want real students, not someone who is looking for a quick secret.”


The flipside of a tutorial though is the video that’s designed for entertainment by magic secrets exposure. One famous YouTube magician was brutally criticised by Craig Petty on his Magic TV channel for exposing illusion bases, a principle that many stage performers use in their shows.


I think most of us can agree that giving away secrets that aren’t yours is wrong. If Murphy’s Magic brings out a new product from a particular creator, and then someone immediately reveals the method on YouTube, that’s not right – and they should be called out. But for tricks that are many years old and not owned by anyone? This is where I get confused. Is a wannabe magician seeking out the Three-Card Monte trick on YouTube any different to someone visiting a library and reading the trick’s secret in a magic book? OK, for the former, you don’t have to physically leave your chair but you still have to invest time in searching for it online.


So maybe the ‘what does exposure mean?’ answer lies in how much time and effort it takes to discover that secret. A wannabe-magician spending 20 minutes watching a Spidey video, listening to his explanations and watching a performance, is very different to a layman channel surfing, coming across a repeat of the Masked Magician on the TV show Breaking The Magician’s Code and being spoon-fed classic secrets used by working magicians.


And talking of Three-Card Monte, in 1994 John Lenahan became the first magician in 85 years to be thrown out of The Magic Circle after explaining the sleight-of-hand used in the trick on the BBC show How Do They Do That? His website’s bio states: “The trick is no more than a gambling con, but I took the rap and enjoyed the publicity.” And today, happily, he’s now a Circle member again.


I contacted The Magic Circle to find out the club’s current position on magicians who give away secrets on YouTube, and also whether Vegas legends Penn and Teller would, today, be allowed to join the club.
President Megan Swann said: ”We have a committee which considers each case individually. It is complicated and often depends on the intent of the magician and what the trick is. Generally, it’s safer to avoid YouTube exposure videos though, as it’s hard to control who sees them.  
“As to whether Penn and Teller would be allowed in – now that’s an examination which would fill our theatre!”


So did programmes such as Breaking The Magician’s Code do much long term damage to magic? Hopefully not, but it certainly showed non-magicians that a lot of secrets are simply ugly and mundane. Remember Julius Dein’s appearance on Good Morning Britain when the camera picked up the invisible thread used to make a pair of spectacles move on a tabletop? It was actually quite amusing reading his fans express their outrage on social media. Did they really think he had magical powers? Or did they think the method would be more elegant than it was? Into my head popped the headline: ‘Magician uses secret thread shock!’


With great card magicians, however, even if you know the moves and sleights you can still appreciate the performance. When an expert such as Michael Vincent executes a side-steal – you may know what he’s doing, you may know roughly when he does it, but you can’t see him do it. And therein lies true magic.
But let’s leave the final comment to seasoned performer Doc Dixon, who beautifully summed up the Masked Magician TV show – in that Atlanta bar-room drawl of his – with one simple down-to-earth line:
“All I could picture in my head was the guy who’d just spent two grand on a Zig-Zag the week before.”


Let us know what you think about YouTube ‘exposure’ in the comments below.

You might also like

How to stay cool if your magic secrets are exposed

Is magic secrets exposure just a point of view?

  • 6 Free Magic Tricks From Jay Sankey
  • Anniversary Waltz Free Magic Download
  • Approaching Magic Practice Ebook
  • Approaching Tables Ebook
  • Recommended For Magic Beginners
  • Cagey Tutorial
  • Choose Magic Set Kids
  • Cloud of Smoke Free Ebook
  • Double Lift Project Free Download
  • Duplex Free Magic Download
  • Epoch Free Magic Tutorials
  • Electric Touch Free Ebook
  • False Shuffles and Cuts Magic Download
  • Faster Than Light - Magic Download
  • Finger-Exercises
  • How to Break In Playing Cards
  • How to Learn Magic Tricks
  • Tips for Leaving a Magic Gigi
  • LSQ Ebook - Free
  • Magicians Fees Ebook
  • Mistakes in Magic Ebook
  • More Icandy
  • The One Minute Magic Business Ebook
  • Pitfalls Magic Family and Friends
  • Safe - Free Magic Ebook
  • School of Cool Free Download
  • Sleight of Hand Beginners Course
  • Split Free Magic Video Download
  • Self Working Card Tricks Vol 2 Download
  • Sweet 360 Free Magic Download
  • The 80's Called Download
  • Self Working Card Tricks Vol 3
  • Think Tank Free Magic Download
  • Turnover Pass Free Download
  • Self Working Card Tricks Download
  • Understanding Misdirection Free Ebook
  • Watch It Free Ebook
  • Wedding Exhibition Guide for Magicians
  • Confidence For Magicians
  • The Indian Shuffle

Filed Under: how to do magic tricks, magic advice, YouTube Magicians Tagged With: learning magic, magic advice

An Obsession with Finishing Magic Tricks Clean

by Merchant of Magic 1 Comment

Many of the commercial effects on the market today shout about how they have been designed to ‘finish clean’ or be fully examinable both before and after the performance of the trick. But is insisting on finishing magic tricks clean really that important? Is it just some of the ‘sales spin’ designed to sounds good, whilst not really doing anything to improve your performance?

Here’s some important advice from one of the world’s most respected magicians… Wayne Dobson.

There’s something that really annoys me about magicians – amateurs, it’s never pros. For many years this has really been a bugbear of mine.

So many magicians seem more interested in whether the props can be examined at the end! They seem obsessed with ‘finishing clean’. I think you’ll find that all the best things in human interaction don’t end clean!!!

With just average stage management your spectators should never even consider examining your props. They should be investing in you as the performer and the performance in front of them – not the props for goodness’ sake. Someone famous (it may have been Vernon: it usually is) said words to the effect that when a violinist performs a wonderful sonata, the audience doesn’t rush forward and insist on examining the violin.

You are what they will remember. Look at the stars of today like Derren and Dynamo, do you think the spectator is more interested in their magnetic coins than them?

Do you really think at the end of your cups & balls routine, after you have produced 3 lemons and everybody is sitting there with their mouth wide, it makes any sense to then burst the evocative bubble by inviting them to examine your cups?!

If they reach for the props, you have done something wrong. We need to get away from this sense of some kind of battle between performer and spectator where the latter is hell-bent on finding out how the performer ‘did it’. If your performance, and relationship with your audience, ends in that state, you need to take a long, hard look at yourself.

I can honestly say that in my 40 years of performing I have never been questioned on the props that I used. Just remember Ken Brooke’s and Danny Buckler saying: “The smaller the prop the bigger the performer.” – Wayne Dobson 

  • 6 Free Magic Tricks From Jay Sankey
  • Anniversary Waltz Free Magic Download
  • Approaching Magic Practice Ebook
  • Approaching Tables Ebook
  • Recommended For Magic Beginners
  • Cagey Tutorial
  • Choose Magic Set Kids
  • Cloud of Smoke Free Ebook
  • Double Lift Project Free Download
  • Duplex Free Magic Download
  • Epoch Free Magic Tutorials
  • Electric Touch Free Ebook
  • False Shuffles and Cuts Magic Download
  • Faster Than Light - Magic Download
  • Finger-Exercises
  • How to Break In Playing Cards
  • How to Learn Magic Tricks
  • Tips for Leaving a Magic Gigi
  • LSQ Ebook - Free
  • Magicians Fees Ebook
  • Mistakes in Magic Ebook
  • More Icandy
  • The One Minute Magic Business Ebook
  • Pitfalls Magic Family and Friends
  • Safe - Free Magic Ebook
  • School of Cool Free Download
  • Sleight of Hand Beginners Course
  • Split Free Magic Video Download
  • Self Working Card Tricks Vol 2 Download
  • Sweet 360 Free Magic Download
  • The 80's Called Download
  • Self Working Card Tricks Vol 3
  • Think Tank Free Magic Download
  • Turnover Pass Free Download
  • Self Working Card Tricks Download
  • Understanding Misdirection Free Ebook
  • Watch It Free Ebook
  • Wedding Exhibition Guide for Magicians
  • Confidence For Magicians
  • The Indian Shuffle

Filed Under: how to do magic tricks, magic advice Tagged With: Famous magicians, performing magic, showmanship

Study Guide for Bobos Modern Coin Magic

by Dominic Reyes 1 Comment

Bobo's Modern Coin MagicSTUDY GUIDE TO BOBOS MODERN COIN MAGIC

by Opie Houston

OBJECTIVE:
Participants will learn selected sleights and tricks from Bobo’s classic. The selected readings, of course, are subjective and represent what I consider to be the essentials. The more serious student of magic may want to seek supplemental sources of material related to his or her own interests.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
Dig out or order a copy of Bobo’s Modern Coin Magic.
Gather the following materials to start: A few American half-dollar size coins; a few American dollar-size coins; two half-dollar size copper coins; other assorted coins; and a handkerchief.

WEEK ONE – Basics
1. Read the Preface, Braun’s Introduction, Acknowledgements, and the Prologue.

2. Skim Chapters 1 and 2. Read every word, and do not stop reading to try some of the sleights. It is very important that you understand Bobo’s theories and philosophy before you tackle the hard stuff.

3. Review Chapter 1, Coin Concealments, and practice all the sleights, with emphasis on the following:
a. Classic Palm; b. Edge Palm; c. Downs Palm; d. Finger Palm.

NOTE: Give the various Clips and Front/BackPalm a look, but concentrate on the sleights listed above. Carry a coin at all times for practice.)

4. Review Chapter II, Basic Technique, and learn the following techniques:
a. Bobo Switch; b. Utility Switch; c. Click Pass; d. Bottom Steal; e. “Fumble” suggestions.

TEST YOURSELF ON CHAPTERS 1 & 2

WEEKS II & III – More Basics
1. Read Chapter III, Coin Vanishes. Read every word before beginning a re-read and emphasis on the following effects:
a. Standard Vanish; b. Thumb Palm Vanish; c. Illusive Coin Pass; d. A Coin Vanish; e. Gone; f. Flyaway Coin; g. Vanish for Several Coins.

NOTE: Play around with all the material in the Chapter, but concentrate most of your efforts on the items listed above and the basics from the previous chapters.)

2. Read Chapter IV only after your have at least a working knowledge of the material in the first three chapters.

NOTE: If at the end of three weeks you have not gained a working knowledge of Chapters 1 through 3, it would probably be best to continue practice and review of those chapters. But, do not become frustrated, because all of us have or have had problems with some of the material. JUST PLAY WITH IT. It is not life-essential material, but it does form the important basic foundation for more advanced coin work.

TEST YOURSELF ON CHAPTERS I – III

WEEKS IV & V – Putting it Together
1. Read Chapters IV, V, and XVI. Wow! There is a lot there, isn’t there? And we haven’t even scratched the surface yet. So, it is time to start putting it together, so to speak, and begin tailoring our own performances, complete with compatible routining and personalized patter. But, before we do that, let us do a little self appraisal.

2. Rate yourself on the following more-or-less desired skills, using three grading levels: Excellent, Good, Needs Work. Make a list of the “Needs Work” items and practice them before proceeding to the next week’s level.
a. Chap I, Coin Concealments: Classic Palm, Edge Palm, Thumb Palm, Finger Palm.
b. Chap II, Basic Technique: Bobo Switch, Utility Switch, One Hand Switch, Click Pass, Bottom Steal, “Fumbles”
c. Chap III, Coin Vanishes: Standard Vanish, Simple Vanish, Thumb Palm Vanish, Illusive Coin Pass, A Coin Vanish, Pinch Vanish, Gone, Flyaway Coin, French Drop, Handkerchief Coin Vanish, Vanish for Several Coins.

3. Using all the knowledge you know and information from Chapters I through V and Chapter XVI, put together a Single-Coin Routine, using the first three suggested routines in Chapter XVI. If you do not know the effects suggested in those routines, look them up or substitute an effect you already know.

(NOTE: When you have organized and perfected a good Walkaround/Standup routine, per 3 above, you will be ready to proceed to the Conquering Bobo Check-list which will take you the remainder of the way through the text. You will find it on page 6.

CONQUERING BOBO
1. If you have completed the “Weeks IV & V” check-list on page 5, you are ready to plan your own personalized advanced study through the remainder of the Bobo text. This check-list will assist you by suggesting some short cuts, and, most importantly, it will point toward the classic coin tricks you should know.
NOTE: Spend about a week on each of the following items with emphasis on learning at least one new trick per week or the number suggested for the item.

2. Week VI –
a. Read Chapters VI and VII.
b. Play around with the material in those chapters.

3. Weeks VII and VIII –
a. Read Chapter VIII.
b. Spend two weeks on this Chapter, and, as a minimum, learn four effects. (Some may require you to visit a magic shop.)

4. Week IX and X –
a. Read Chapter IX.
b. Spend at least two weeks on this chapter and learn at least three of these classics.

5. Week XI –
a. Read the remaining chapters that you have not read. JUST READ!
b. Now, go back and make a list of effects you wish to learn from those new chapters.

6. Week XII – and forever thereafter…
a. Begin on page 1 and Re-Read the whole book. Stop and play whenever you like.
b. While you are playing, however, make a list of the tricks you really like and play around with different patter/presentations of each one…….
……..that is the secret to learning magic–constant evaluation and improvement…..

I HOPE YOU HAVE ENJOYED MY LITTLE COURSE PLAN…

Opie

  • 6 Free Magic Tricks From Jay Sankey
  • Anniversary Waltz Free Magic Download
  • Approaching Magic Practice Ebook
  • Approaching Tables Ebook
  • Recommended For Magic Beginners
  • Cagey Tutorial
  • Choose Magic Set Kids
  • Cloud of Smoke Free Ebook
  • Double Lift Project Free Download
  • Duplex Free Magic Download
  • Epoch Free Magic Tutorials
  • Electric Touch Free Ebook
  • False Shuffles and Cuts Magic Download
  • Faster Than Light - Magic Download
  • Finger-Exercises
  • How to Break In Playing Cards
  • How to Learn Magic Tricks
  • Tips for Leaving a Magic Gigi
  • LSQ Ebook - Free
  • Magicians Fees Ebook
  • Mistakes in Magic Ebook
  • More Icandy
  • The One Minute Magic Business Ebook
  • Pitfalls Magic Family and Friends
  • Safe - Free Magic Ebook
  • School of Cool Free Download
  • Sleight of Hand Beginners Course
  • Split Free Magic Video Download
  • Self Working Card Tricks Vol 2 Download
  • Sweet 360 Free Magic Download
  • The 80's Called Download
  • Self Working Card Tricks Vol 3
  • Think Tank Free Magic Download
  • Turnover Pass Free Download
  • Self Working Card Tricks Download
  • Understanding Misdirection Free Ebook
  • Watch It Free Ebook
  • Wedding Exhibition Guide for Magicians
  • Confidence For Magicians
  • The Indian Shuffle

Filed Under: magic advice Tagged With: coin magic, magic advice, Study Guides

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 24
  • Next Page »
Pick some magic goals for this year we'll help you reach them!

Pick some magic goals for this year, We'll help you reach them!

SEARCH THE BLOG

GET A FREE MAGIC TRICK


GET A FREE MAGIC TRICK

Download your free magic trick FINK courtesy of Ben Harris.

Fink is an interesting effect: a crazy concoction of Luke Dancy's GRAB, Ben Harris's Through the universe backwards, and Fandango. Created by Kyle MacNeill

BEGINNERS START HERE

BEGINNER MAGIC SECTION

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
Read Our Privacy Policy

RECENT POSTS

  • A Magic Secret Disappointment?
  • I don’t know what magic secrets exposure means anymore
  • Twitter For Magicians – 8 Top Tips
  • An Obsession with Finishing Magic Tricks Clean
  • Magician of the Month – October 2021

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

SEE WHAT’S JUST ARRIVED TO THE MAGIC SHOP

SEE WHAT'S JUST ARRIVED TO THE MAGIC SHOP

THE MAGIC SHOP

  • TESTIMONIALS
  • BEGINNERS START HERE
  • GIFT IDEAS
  • MAGIC SETS
  • CARD MAGIC TRICKS
  • CLOSE-UP MAGIC TRICKS
  • MAGIC DVDS
  • MAGIC BOOKS
  • COIN MAGIC TRICKS
  • PLAYING CARDS
  • MIND MAGIC TRICKS
  • MEET THE TEAM

SEE WHAT’S COMING SOON

SEE WHAT'S COMING SOON

PAUL HARRIS SECTION

PAUL HARRIS SECTION

ELLUSIONIST SECTION

ELLUSIONIST SECTION

JAY SANKEY SECTION

JAY SANKEY SECTION

Copyright © 2022 · Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in