How to do Magic Tricks

Advice and Support for Magicians

The First Magic Tricks a Magician Should Learn

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Magic tricks a magician should learn

How to pick the first magic tricks a magician should learn

Mark writes: 'I found you book on magic practice  helpful, but I don't know which tricks to start work on. How do I choose my first effect? Any help?'

There are so many magic tricks to learn. The magic shop stocks over 20,000 tricks.. How does a beginner know where to start? The answer isn't to browse through the shop until you find a trick that fools you. You're not the person you want to fool.

Here's a short video from Dominic Reyes about choosing the right magic tricks to start learning magic:

When you are a complete beginner, the first goal is to understand HOW you are going to perform, rather than what you will be performing. You need to find your style. Will you be serious, funny, mystical, urban, classic, polite, cheeky..? Until you have an understanding about the style that suits you, and the audience that you will entertain, it's very hard to practice the presentation of any magic trick.

It's a good idea to choose self working tricks when you first start out. Easy mechanics, means that you can move on to presentation as quickly as possible. Presentation is the KEY to good magic practice. The mechanics can be drilled, but your performing style needs to develop through performance. If you learn a few easy to do tricks at the beginning, you can start performing to your family and friends, and in doing so, discover a presentation style that fits YOU.

This discovery stage also extends to the fields of magic that you can choose. Will you be a card mechanic, a coin worker, a jack of all trades..? There's so much to learn before you even try to practice your first sleight of hand. Taking the time to understand how you will present your magic, will naturally point you in the direction of the first 'harder' effects you will want to tackle.

Why People Give Up Learning How to Do Sleight of Hand Magic

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Quit learning magic

By Dominic Reyes

 

Why most people give up trying to learn how to do magic with sleight of hand.

I recorded this short video about the most common reasons what most people tend to give up trying to master sleight of hand. I've worked with a great deal of magic students over the years, and the same reason springs up every time. The magic secret is that it's easy to get past this phase, as long as you realise that you have falled foul of this way of thinking about your magic and your ability to master it.

So many people begin new hobbies every day. The vast majority give up in the first few months. That's quite normal, as the pleasure of the new wears off. Some pople push past this and their abilities suddenly shoot up as they reach the turning point of their learning curve. It's all about sticking with it and not judging yourself too much. It's not a race or competition. Learning magic is a slow gradual process that builds up over time. 

I'd love to hear about your experiences learning sleight of hand. Did you find the process easy? Way it hard for you. How did you motivate yourself to keep going? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

 

If you would like more help with your study of magic. I recommend joining our newsletter. You will get tips and advice over time to help you stay motivated with your practice and stop you giving up, just before the real progress in your techniques is discovered.

 

20 Notebooks for Your Magicians Diary – Evernote for Magic Tricks

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20 Notebooks for Evernote Magicians

One of the best things a magician can do is to keep a magic notebook. We are going to look at how Evernote can be set up and used by magicians as the ultimate diary and journal for everything they need to record as they study, practice their magic tricks and most important of all: perform.

Evernote is a free service (with the option of premium features) that allows you to capture anything. You can save your ideas, things you like, things you hear, and things you see.

Your notes can be accessed anywhere – Evernote works with pretty much every computer, phone and mobile device out there.

Best of all, you can find things fast – Search by keyword, tag or even printed and handwritten text inside images.

You can clip copies of webpages, store PDF’s and files, make an audio recording, store photos and images. The list of things you can put in Evernote goes on and on. Basically, you can dump in everything you want to keep and remember, and then find it again whenever and wherever you need it.

You can store all your notes in a general inbox, or create notebooks, full of notes on different topics.

Evernote Ideas For Magicians.

Here are some ideas for notebooks to make in Evernote that magicians will find invaluable:

1) Magic Ebooks and PDF’s.
Do you have a load of magic Ebooks and pdf’s stored on your computer? Drop them into Evernote, and you have your digital magic tricks library with you, wherever you go. The PDF reader in Evernote is one of the best we have ever seen and its fully searchable.

2) Instructions for your magic tricks.
Scan or take a photo of any magic tricks instruction sheet that come with your props. This is very handy if you need to contact the manufacturer in the future for refills or parts. It’s great to be able to refer to them using the search if needed.

3) Lists of sets and magic tricks in acts.
As you learn more magic tricks. Start building them together into acts and sets that go together. Creating a notebook to list these, is a great way to stay organised and develop your magic into commercial professional routines. It’s also a vital step to add continuity and flow to your magic performances.

4) One-liners.
How many jokes have you heard over the years, and wished you remembered? Each time you hear a great line, a joke or even just a professional answer to common questions spectators ask, create a note or record a quick audio clip. It’s amazing how much you forget over the years. This journal will come in very handy when you are working on presenting your magic tricks and their scripting.

5) Contracts.
Scan or photo each of your contracts and booking forms when you take a magic booking. Having a notebook with all your paperwork handy and searchable by date or client name, means you have all the details you need when you are traveling to a gig. It’s all backed up in the cloud, so you don’t have to worry about losing paperwork or your work diary ever again.

6) Previous client lists.
Clip company logo’s and details for each of your clients.  You now have an invaluable record of your magicians clients database.

7) Testimonials.
Some magicians ask for a quick audio testimonial from clients after a booking. Ask them to talk aount your magic tricks. You can instantly do this within Evernote. Send any emails from clients into this notebook and scan thank you letters. Build up a portfolio you can show future clients or use for your marketing.

8) Performing pics.
Take some pics at every gig you do. They get stored, and Geo tagged at the same time. Evernote is a great way to build up a library of performing pics in one place. Very handy for future marketing and website building.

9) Magic tricks want list.
Create a want list as you browse magic shop websites. Clip product pages, reviews and information about the magic tricks you are thinking of learning.

10) Best magic websites.
Clip the front page of your favourite magic shop websites, so you have a magic bookmark list always at hand. If you visit a great bricks and mortar magic shop. Take a pic and store it’s Geo-location at the same time.

11) Receipts.
Save copes of your order receipts for magic tricks you buy. If you are a working pro, clip all your receipts to the folder. This makes the end of year accounts much easier.

12) Routine Ideas.
Every time a routine idea pops into your head make a quick note or audio note in Evernote. Collect every idea as you never know what will be valuable later on. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it!

13) Practice drills for your magic tricks.
Create to-do list notes and practice drills to organise your magic practice. Adding structure to your practice can make all the difference.

14) Magic tricks inventory.
Make a photo or note inventory of all the magic books, DVDs and Props you own. If you ever need to claim on your insurance, this is a great list to have at hand. If you review it in the future, you may rediscover an item you had forgotten about.

15) Business cards.
Snap photos of business cards you receive. The images can be text searched and will be with you whenever you need then. Cards from promoters, clients, other magicians and venues can all be sorted in this notebook as your own personal magic business database. If a photographer  attends an event, take a pic of their card so you can contact them later to get copies of their photographs.

16) Maps travel and locations.
Visiting a new venue to perform? Clip their website to this notebook and you have all the details you need, when you are on the road. Train times, flights, and maps can all be stored here.

17) Conventions and events.
Clip news about conventions and events you want to attend. store copies of tickets and reservations, so you have a backup when needed.

18) Performing diary.
This is the most useful notebook of all. After every gig, record an audio note talking about how it went. What went well? What could have been better? What have you discovered from that days gig?

Keeping a journal like this, will be interesting in the years ahead to look back on, but also invaluable as a learning tool and a way of keeping you focused on improving and developing your magic.

19) Store you promotional material.
Flyers, posters, template contracts and booking forms can all be stored in Evernote. Throw in the raw files for your business card design, a backup of your performing website.

20) The idea we haven’t though about.
What do you recommend magicians record and save? Let us know in the comments selection below.