Finger Exercises for Magicians – Free Ebook

How to add finger exercises for magicians into your magic practice, to protect your hands, and improve dexterity.

The aim of finger exercise is to build up finger speed, strength and overall dexterity. Through regular exercise, finger strength is also increased and you will see a marked difference in your ability to manipulate a deck of cards or a stack of coins.

Where the work happens

Your fingers don’t actually have muscles within them. The muscles which are used to work your fingers are located within your palms, and also on your arms. They are linked to the fingers by tendons, which control the fingers as the tendon ‘strings’ pull and relax.

The muscles in your palms are not very strong. They are designed to pull the fingers inwards to the palm. The stronger muscles that control the majority of your finger strength reside in your forearm. The tendons of these muscles travel through your wrist to your fingers. Because the power in your fingers is related to the strength of your arms, by toning these muscles, your gripping strength will improve.

For sleight of hand, the aim is to increase your suppleness by stretching the tendons to pull the muscles.

The Merchant of Magic has created a free ebook that will teach you simple, easy Finger Exercises for Magicians used by professional magicians as part of their sleight of hand practice sessions.

The 21 page ebook will teach you how to:

Develop dexterity, speed, and strength in your hands.
Avoid R.S.I injury.
Spot the symptoms of R.S.I
Improve focus and coordination.
Maintain healthy finger joints.
Improve your ability to manipulate playing cards or coins.
Understand how your muscles control your fingers.
Know when, where and how to exercise your fingers.
Much much more.

The Finger Exercises for Magicians ebook includes video tutorials of each exercise.

‘I found your exercises book and I can’t tell you how amazing my wrists and hands feel right now. I’m a writer/artist so I use my hands a LOT and I have always had a little trouble with pain in those areas from constantly typing (I type fast too so it can be a lot of strain) as such I tend to write for a bit and then have to stop, sometimes for several days at a time. When I read through the exercises I wondered if it might help with the typing as well. I haven’t done it long term yet but it really loosened the stiffness in my wrists and hands even just doing it once. I’m so grateful for you sharing this, I just wanted you to know. Thank you so very much!’ – Stephanie Valis

Body Language and Magicians – Confidence to Perform Magic Tricks

by Merchant of Magic 7 Comments

By Dominic Reyes

Amy Cuddy gave an excellent TED talk showing how body language can change not only how people see you, but also how you feel about yourself and your own abilities. For magicians, this is essential advice.

I highly recommend you take the time to watch her talk on this subject:

Close up magicians cold call social groups and attempt to form a relationship many times each booking. As you approach each group, you are making a first impression, in much the same way as a job interview. In the first few moments of your introduction, spectators are making assumptions about you based on your appearance, posture, expression and behaviour. A positive and confident approach goes a long way towards smoothing your introduction into the group and their willingness to give you attention.

Problems for magicians.

When a magician approaches a new group of people, he or she has several obstacles to overcome including:

Capturing attention.
Developing a rappor.
Dealing with alpha spectators in a power play for group attention.
Overcoming stereotypes.
Engaging interest in the magic.

That's a lot of work to do, in the first few seconds of your introduction. Even established professional magicians experience a form of stage fright when they first start performing at a gig. This stage fright can often present itself as a nagging doubt in your own abilities, act, or the audience's interest in seeing your magic. Many magicians experience a fear of 'being found out' as if everyone will suddenly accuse them of not really being a magician. It's not so much about the magic tricks going wrong, but an irrational feeling that everyone will say. 'hang on, you're not really a magician are you!' This feeling stems from feeling that you are just playing the part of a magician, rather than actually being one.

Magicians need to establish their confidence and proficiency as quickly as possible. A slouched, closed posture signals insecurity. Spending time working on your posture, stance, and body language can radically transform your success as a magician.

Our own confidence greatly affects the overall reactions that our magic performance produce. That's why Amy Cuddy's advice is so useful to performers. If we send the time before a gig, ensuring that our own frame of mind is positive and confident, it will resonate throughout our who performance. Amy demonstrates that being aware of your body language, and accepting the ability to 'fake it until you make it' can lead you to 'fake it until you become it!'.

How to Find an Audience for Your Magic Tricks

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Richard writes: 'I've been practicing magic for a few years, but only performing to my family. How do I find an audience for my magic tricks?'

Nice work Richard! You've been practicing your magic over the long term, and that shows a real commitment to develop as a magician. Like many people, you have reached the point where you have run out of new people to see your tricks. After all, magic needs fresh eyes because a magic trick is never as strong when it's repeated to the same person. Lets look at some ways you can start performing to a wider audience.

Dominic Reyes recorded a short video in which he talks about finding an audience for your magic tricks:

In a nutshell, it's all about reaching out to the community. You already have an audience that would love to see your magic. It doesn't have to be a commercial transaction as the real value for you initially is experience. Start looking for an audience for your magic tricks amongst the charity and support sector. Study the 'what's on' guide to look for events that might like to 'bolt on' some close up magic. Advertised events may be at a stage where they have already arranged the entertainment, but that should not stop you. The goal is to make contact with the organisers and introduce yourself. When the best season of events start to be planned, you can recontact and be at the front of their minds, when they are doing serious planning.

The secret is to MAKE CONTACT. The world will not come to you, all by itself.

Introduce yourself and become known in those circles. If you make an effort to put yourself out there as a possible entertainment choice, you will land some gigs sooner or later.

Remember to be active in the magic community. Join a local magic club and be INVOLVED. You will have fun, learn, and develop an understanding of your local areas market for magicians.