Learn Magic Tricks with Context and Meaning – Advice from Garrett Thomas

Garrett Thomas - Learn magic tricks that reflect your personality

How do we learn magic tricks that have a context and meaning that relates to us as individual magicians?

Ask yourself: what do you love to do? Not just in the sense of magic, but in general. What are your hobbies? What gets you excited and motivated?

We asked master magician Garrett Thomas to take a few moments to give you some advice on this subject:

It’s common advice to build your character and persona around your own personality, rather than being a clone of other magicians. However, to do this you need to understand exactly who you are. The old saying goes: ‘You are what you do’.

What else do YOU do?

Draw inspiration when you learn magic tricks, from your passions. If, like Garrett Thomas, you enjoy puzzles, how could you build that into the exaggerated version of yourself that you present as your magic persona?

Ok, I know, your first love is magic.. But what else do you love? The best magic you create in your life will be inspired by what you pull out of yourself, your own interests and personality. Perhaps you love gambling? If you have a passion for that, outside of magic, then it would be a good fit, for you to learn magic tricks that fit that theme.

Maybe you love reading books on a specific theme? Could you choose magic tricks to create an ‘act’ that reflects and communicate that passion?

Paint by Numbers.

Garrett Thomas suggests that you should look at the magic tricks created by other magicians as a form of ‘paint by numbers’. As we search a magic shop for new magic tricks to learn, it’s easy to forget that we are looking at the collective work of thousands of different magicians. Each of the magic tricks is offered OUT OF CONTEXT from the magicians complete act.

Looking at magic tricks in isolation from their context, does not give us a common theme for the tricks to be presented. The result: We tend to pick magic tricks simply because each magic trick fools us, and we feel we could also use them. We don’t consider if they fit our own consistent theme or personality. It’s very important to think about how any new magic tricks will fit in with the tricks that will also be presented in the set or act you perform. When fitted together will they present a common message about you as a performer, or just be a random series of ‘cool’ magic tricks any magician could do.

The way to stop being interchangeable.

Most magicians are interchangeable. It’s a sad fact that magic entertainment agencies will hire out magicians as an ‘out the box’ product.

Magic Agency:

‘You need some table magicians? No problem! I can supply 3 table magicians for the event, and you get a discount!’

That’s not how YOU want to be sold to a client. You want to be hand picked and a feature of the event. Generic magic tricks make generic magicians. The way to prevent being generic is to have a unique feature. The best unique feature is your personality, communicated to the audience through the act and the magic tricks that form it. THAT is the reason why you should think about context when you choose to learn new magic tricks.

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How Does Dynamo Do His Tricks?

by Merchant of Magic 7 Comments

How does Dynamo do his tricks? This is the most common question the team at the Merchant of Magic is asked. In fact, a day doesn’t go by without someone doesn’t phone the magic shop to ask just that question.

Why do they want to know?

Many callers have just seen an episode of Dynamo Magician Impossible on TV. They have been amazed by the show and simply want to work out Dynamo does it. For other’s, the dynamo TV series acts as a gateway, inspiring them to learn magic for themselves. They call the shop for help taking the first step in magic training.

How should a magic shop answer this question? There are several possible answers a magic shop could give:

How does Dynamo do his tricks? Answer: It’s a secret.

Magic shops use a code of conduct developed by magicians over the years, to allow the exchange of magic secrets amongst themselves. Training and magic tricks need to be exchanged, but magic shops agree not to actively promote exposing the secrets of magic tricks to the general public. When a person that magic shop doesn’t know, calls to ask: how does Dynamo do his magic tricks? We assume that the person is simply a member of the public and is looking for answers to a puzzle rather than seeking to learn magic.

How does Dynamo do his tricks? Answer: With a huge production company on TV

Much of Dynamo magician impossible is TV magic. That’s very different to the type of magic tricks that would work if a magician were performing magic tricks live.

Dynamo’s TV show is a polished product, produced, edited and directed. It’s the work of a huge team of people. When people ask magic shops: How does dynamo do his magic tricks, they are hoping that it will be something they can simply buy and perform themselves. This is often not the case. Some possible answer:

How does Dynamo do his tricks? Answer: That’s the wrong question to ask.

The saying goes:

‘The only silly question is the one that isn’t asked’.

That’s true, but there are better ways to ask the question. How about:

That’s true, but there are better ways to ask the question. How about:‘How can I do magic tricks like dynamo?’

It’s great to be inspired by famous magicians, but one of the real magicians secrets is not to try to become a clone of any single magician.

If you enjoy the type of magic Dynamo performs (Street Magic), look for magic tricks you could do in that style. Be original, yet with a popular theme. Clones are never as successful as the original. As a magician, you need to step out in your own direction. Use other magicians as inspiration and learn as much as you can from them about presentation and performance, but don’t follow too closely in any one person’s footsteps. If you do, you will encounter all the problems they have faced, but very little of their luck or breaks.

Ask a good magic shop for help choosing magic tricks in the style of Dynamo Magician Impossible and they will be happy to help you. If you ask them: How does Dynamo do his tricks? They won’t answer that question directly. However, they will be happy to talk to you about your performing style, persona and the magic tricks you already do. Then, they can suggest magic tricks that would fit you perfectly. The best magic shops are staffed by working magicians so they will have invaluable free information for you on how to get it right.

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Magic Books – Should Magicians Learn From a Magic Book?

by Merchant of Magic Leave a Comment

I love nothing more than reading a magic book. I’ve always thought that Magic books have so much more value than magic DVDs. Obviously this is personal preference and a bold statement. But I stand by it and have often gotten into deep discussions with other magicians, arguing the pros and cons of Magic books when learning new magic tricks.

Let me explain my reasons. Of course, you may well disagree, but if anything, my views may at least make you think about the values of a magic book from a different angle.

In this modern age of DVD, YouTube, Instant Downloads, and streaming videos it is easier and quicker than ever before to learn magic. We now live in an instant world where all the information we hunger is readily available. This clearly has it’s positives, but it also has it’s negatives. Because we can obtain this information so easily, it’s true worth can be underestimated which in turn classes the information as easily discarded. Anything that is easily discarded has less worth. That brings us to a much slower way to learn magic: The magic book.

Magic books require time, and also reading a good magic book stimulates imagination. To read a magic book you need to be away from any distractions or interruptions. Within magic books are magic secrets. By that I mean magic tricks and routines that have been lost in time and lost in print. Are these points positives or negatives? I argue they are all positives.

Firstly, when you invest time in your magic book it gives you it’s value. If something is instant, it’s value may be less. Secondly, when you read your magic book works with your imagination to automatically create an image, therefore, when reading magic books in your mind you see yourself in the role of the magician. This helps build creativity and patter on so many levels.

Thirdly, if watching a DVD you can still be interrupted. People will sometimes ask you to do things. Essentially, if you are sat in front of TV, it is assumed you are relaxing and open to interruptions and conversation. When reading a magic book it will send out the signal do not disturb (in a nice way of course). Also, when reading magic books you can put music on quietly in the background, which has been proven to enhance learning.

Finally, there is the `hidden gem` magic tricks you will discover. To find gold you have to dig. Magic books are designed this way, and nothing compares to finding a trick that you immediately love. Its like flicking through CD’s in a huge music store and finding an old favorite. There is an old saying in magic:

“If you want to keep a secret, put it in writing.”

Put all these elements together and you have an excellent learning structure the magic book, plus when you learn particular magic tricks or routines you will have learn`t it with yourself in mind. This for me is the biggest advantage. When watching a DVD you are watching another person’s perspective on how to perform magic tricks, and subconsciously you will be learning the performers mannerisms. I have no desire to be a mimic. The magic should be about the magician as a performer, not the magic tricks. Magic books give you the option to be yourself.

Don’t get me wrong, DVDs and visual learning has it’s place, and everyone learns their magic tricks in different ways. These are purely my views and preferences. Obviously to explain a technical move or sleight in writing is restricted, and to see it taught makes the learning process quicker, but who is to say that the performer you are watching is performing the move exactly as it was intended? I hope my thoughts at least throw a new perspective on magic books and the benefits of reading and the learning process.

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