How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

How does the Magician Richard Jones do his Magic Tricks?

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Richard Jones Magician magic tricks

How does the Magician Richard Jones do his Magic Tricks?

It was great to see magician Richard Jones do so well on this years Britain’s Got talent. Richard has been a regular customer at the Merchant of Magic for many years. The team has been advising him on performing/practice techniques, as well as on new effects that we feel would be perfect for him. As with all our customers that go in to the show, we love seeing them get the spotlight and recognition for the hard work they deserve. Take a moment to watch his first magic performance on the series:

Every time a magician appears on Britain’s Got Talent, the magic shop phone lines glow red hot with magicians calling us to buy the same magic props and magic tricks that the magician on TV performed. It’s true that MoM sell almost all of the props and tricks you see performed on the show. The team of magicians at Merchant of Magic even work with magicians to prepare for TV shows and competitions such as BGT, but ordering the same magic tricks that you see performed, isn’t the real secret here.

Magicians can learn something far more valuable than a list of tricks to buy from a magic shop, from watching Richards Jones perform his magic. His presentation was really good, technically well practiced, rehearsed, and he looked to be enjoying the experience. The real secret was his IMAGE and PRESENTATION.

Before Richards ‘turn’, several other magicians were shown in fast succession. Granted, these were edited to point out the weak parts in each  presentation, but the contrast between the ‘outtake’ magicians and Richard Jones was striking. He presented himself as a well dressed, ‘normal guy’ that was instantly likeable. Just like Jamie Raven, and Darcy before him on the BGT series, the magicians that do well, present themselves as people you would be happy to have attend your own event or party. They are easy to identify with, and invite you to like them. Magician Richard Jones contrasted well with his back story of a brave soldier. A normal guy that can to incredible things. There is far more going on in the presentation than the magic alone.
Richard Jones (Richard Alan)

All the team at MoM will be cheering on Richard through the rest of the competition and we hope it gives him the career boost he deserves.

You can find out more about magician Richard Jones here

Do this: Think about how you come across to your audience. How would they describe your style, appearance, and character to their friends and family? Does the image you present, fit with your target client?

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Filed Under: how to do magic tricks Tagged With: Famous magicians, Richard Jones Magician, showmanship

R.I.P Paul Daniels – 6th April 1938 – 17th March 2016

by Dominic Reyes 1 Comment

Paul Danials died today March 17th 2016

It is with great sorrow that we must report that magician Paul Daniels is dead.

Paul Daniels has died today with Debbie at his side, just a few weeks after his brain tumour was diagnosed.

Dominic Reyes : ‘Paul Daniels showed me the very first magic trick I ever experienced. I loved his magic TV show as a child, and his work directly resulted in my lifelong love of the impossible. Deepest sympathy to his family. The magic community is poorer for his passing.‘

Mark Henderson :  ‘Paul Daniels influence on my magic can’t be measured. He always had time for everyone he met, and he helped so many magicians learn their craft. RIP Paul.‘

 Ben Williams : ‘I’ll never forget growing up in the 1980’s watching Paul Daniels on TV. It’s undoubted that his magic has influenced a generation of magicians, including myself.‘

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Filed Under: how to do magic tricks Tagged With: Famous magicians, Paul Daniels

Eugene Burger on Imitation in Magic

by Dominic Reyes Leave a Comment

Eugene Burger on ImitationOn Imitation in Magic

By Eugene Burger

It was Charles Caleb Colton ( Who was born in 1780 and who died in 1832) who first seems “officially to have said: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”

I Have nothing to say about Mr. Colton, but about the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people who have repeated his statement approvingly. I would say this: Most likely they have themselves been copyists and imitators. Is it surprising that the criminal doesn’t always find his crime offensive?

Let me suggest two axioms upon which we might hang our understanding of the problem of imitation.

This “problem” of imitation?

Don’t you think imitation is a problem? On several levels?

There is, first, the problem of imitating the book or imitating the teacher. We do this all the time. We attempt to imitate what this person or that person, what this book or that book, says we should do. We make the person or the book our authority. We try to copy what the book says, and, in all that there is little artistic creation – For doesn’t creation involve finding out for myself, discovering this for myself, working with it, playing with different approaches, refining what I am doing? Do you think creation is copying what the book says?

If the sleight-of-hand artist is attempting to copy anything, it is reality itself; seeking to imitate the action itself.

I pick up a coin from the table with my right hand and place it in my left so that my right hand is free to pick up something else. When I look at this action with attentiveness, with care, I see what it is to pick up the coin and transfer it so that I might do something else with my right hand. What I am trying to imitate, in conjuring, is how I, myself, pick up the coin. I am not trying to copy how Slydini picks up a coin, or how Al Schneider does it, or how David Roth does it – no, I am attempting to copy how I, myself, do it. And you must look at how you , yourself, do it. That is what you must imitate: your own action. That is where you begin. I want this other action, this action in which I do not place the coin in my left hand but secretly retain it in my right, to be perceptually indistinguishable from the action in which I actually place the coin in my left hand.

Too often, however, we attempt to imitate not the action itself but, as I have said, we attempt to copy what the book describes or the action of how someone else does it. But the teacher may be wrong, his hands might be much larger than yours, or smaller. The book might be wrong, not for its author, but for you! There might, in fact, be a far better way for you; an entirely new and more deceptive approach. You can only find it by yourself – in the solitude of your practice and rehearsal.

It is, of course, interesting for us, as magicians, to watch and enjoy other magicians, to see and learn how others do these things. Who isn’t interested in collecting such information and experiences? But, after their show is over, you are not them. You must find your own way.

Second, there is the problem of imitating and copying another performer’s presentations, not to mention the approving jokes one hears about such copying among groups of magicians. When you look at the amount of presentational copying there is on the contemporary magic scene, don’t you think it’s a little outrageous?

This is not a problem that is peculiar to magicians. Don’t humans generally seem to think it is easier to imitate rather than to strike out on their own? In imitation there is the promise of security, while in working to find out what is best for you, as in all self-discovery, and there is always the risk of failure and the pain which failure brings. For centuries and centuries, consequently, humans have generally opted for copying those they admire. (In this rather sad sense, Colton’s famous quotation has a ring of truth to it.) We opt for copying, I must add, even though this usually entails stealing the fruits of the admired persons labour.

Here, then, are my two axioms:

I. Presentation is that point where you put yourself into your magic.
II. Imitation is attempting to put someone else into your magic.

Stated in this way, you can see that imitation must ultimately be a form of chasing the (Ever-elusive) brass ring and going round and round in the process, not unlike a laboratory rat in a cage.

The truth is that, while you can put yourself into your magic, in the final analysis, it is futile and impossible to try to put someone else into it. Deep down, it just can’t be done. It is an utterly unattainable goal – like the television housewife’s unattainable goal of completely and forever-and-ever eliminating all the dust and germs from her kitchen.

My point is simply this: Once you stop putting your energy into seeking the impossible, you suddenly have a great deal of energy to put into projects which you can accomplish – such as making your magic as uniquely you as you are!

I am saying, then, that the question of imitation isn’t simply an ethical issue. It is that, of course It’s bad enough not to have any morals, but not to have any ethics rather reduced humankind to the level of the rutabaga, doesn’t it. Imitation is an ethical question because it usually involves stealing the fruits of another’s labour.

More interesting to me, is that imitation is also a theatrical question – a question of impact and the magician’s character or persona, and this point, I am afraid, is very rarely understood by those performers who are so quick to imitate another performer’s presentations. Imitation is a theatrical issue: Do you see that you will always appear to your audiences as a little awkward and you will feel a little awkward yourself so long as you are trying to imitate someone else?

Matt Schulien was his own character. He was himself. That was part of his power. Why attempt to imitate someone like Matt – whom everyone saw as a one-of-a-kind? ( Wouldn’t that be like trying to climb the greased pole?) When all is said and done, you can only be yourself. You have no other choice. Why not put some real energy into this process?

I have worked to make (Matt Schulien’s) cards discoveries my own. In the descriptions, I’ve attempted to explain what is involved. But the goal for you is surely not to mindlessly imitate what I do, but to make these fabulous efforts your own as well. The goal for each of us must always be to perform our magic in our own way.

If we fail, we will end up with a world of interchangeable magicians- something which is already beginning to flower at many theme parks where teenagers, disguised as giant plastic bunnies and carrots with pre-recorded voices, perform in major illusion shows.

Common sense will tell you, however, that being an interchangeable magician is just what you don’t want to be- not simply from the artistic point of view, but from the pocketbook/practical point of view as well. Don’t you want people to want you and not just “a magician”? Don’t you want people to hire you? Prospective clients are often funny; Budgets for interchangeable magicians tend to be on the low side whereas, if someone wants you, really wants you, the rewards will be far greater.

So next time you feel tempted to take the easy way and copy what this person or that person, what this book or that book, says STOP!
Why try to put someone else into your performance? Presentation, remember, is that point where you put yourself into your magic. But, then, isn’t that the fun – and wonder- of performing?

Copyright 2000 by Eugene Burger and Richard Kaufman Reprinted by The Coin Purse – Merchant of Magic Ltd with express permission.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now know or to be invented, without written permission.

This article first appeared in ‘ On Matt Schulien’s Fabulous Card Discoveries ‘ (1983) Eugene Burger.

Currently in print within the excellent collected writings of Eugene Burger ‘ Mastering the Art of Magic’ Kaufman and company.

Additional essays of the subject of magic performance can be found on Eugene Burgers website. It is also possible to purchase many of his books ( Including Mastering the Art of Magic) from the site.

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

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