magic advice Archives

Is a Magic Book Better Than a Magic DVD

Both sides have convincing arguments. It’s a debate that has been raging in the magic community since the 1980’s with the appearance of the first magic video’s. How do you know which is better? Should you learn from a magic book or a DVD?

Is a Magic book better?

The magic book fans argue that you develop your own unique style and presentation from a book. Magic books teach you the techniques, but don’t turn you into a clone of the author.

Magic books offer the best value for money. Packed full of magic tricks they can be a treasure chest of new material.

They are easy to reference. At any time, you can dip into a magic book and learn something new.

They look awesome on your bookcase (OK, that’s not really related to learning magic, but it’s a real plus).

Magic DVD better.

A DVD shows you the full routine in detail exactly as the creator of the magic trick performs the trick. You see the full presentation, timing, misdirection and audience control in a way a magic book simply can’t show you.

A magic DVD can be paused, and you can jump to sections as you learn the material.

You don’t need to keep a magic DVD propped open as you learn from it.

They are more portable and can be backed up (copyright permitting).

They tend to focus on fewer tricks, often just one per DVD, which helps you focus in on learning the trick rather than jumping from new trick to a new trick.

Both sides of the argument have compelling points. Whether you decide to invest in a magic book or a DVD, will depend on your own preferred style of learning.

The team at the Merchant of Magic often suggests total beginners start with a magic DVD. They feel that seeing the trick performed helps to make it easier to learn, compared to text and illustrations only. Once the student has the basics under their control, books make a great recourse that will deepen their knowledge.

What do you think? Is a magic book better than a DVD? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below:

Creators of Magic Tricks and Why You Should Contact Them

by Merchant of Magic 3 Comments

By Dominic Reyes

Magic is a very small community, and being a magic creator is not a mass market activity. The magicians who develop great tricks tend to be obsessed by magic! Many of them put a huge amount of time and effort into creating an effect, for very little financial reward. They do it because they love inventing tricks, and seeing their creation being used by magicians. They don’t get to be millionaires from their creations, and as a rule tend not to be business minded.

Why do the creators of magic tricks do it?

They are simply magicians like you and me, who came up with a great idea and want to share it. They LOVE getting feedback from people who are using their tricks. As they tend to also be magicians, they are very easy to contact directly. Shoot an email over to the creator of the trick you are learning. A quick Google search should bring up their website. Let him or her know you are seriously learning their trick.

Avoiding the dangers of magic forum reviews

When a new trick is released, within a few days the magic forums become full of ‘user reviews’ of the trick. These early reviews are really just ‘first impressions’ as the reviewers have not had time to learn and perform the trick they are ‘reviewing’. Because of this, they tend to be based largely on the production value of the product and the first impressions of the gimmicks included. Often they are written after just a quick watch of the DVD and a little play with the props. These ‘reviews’ make up much of the feedback creators of magic tricks receives about their magic release.

When an email comes in from someone seriously interested in learning how to perform the trick, it’s a real breath of fresh air to the creators of magic tricks, and they tend to help that person as much as possible. Their advice and guidance is very valuable to you!

Would you like to learn more about getting the best out of the next new magic trick you plan to learn? We have produced a free 36 page ebook on the subject (This post content was actually taken from one of the pages of the ebook). You can download the free ebook below:

What to Do When Your New Magic Trick Arrives

by Merchant of Magic 1 Comment

By Dominic Reyes

It’s arrived in the post! A large padded envelope has been dropped off by the postman and you are standing by the front door, staring down at it.

You know what’s inside…

After all you’ve been excited about this moment right from the second you clicked the ‘confirm order’ button.

Now it’s finally in your hands

Your next move…

Rip it open, play with the props and experience a small feeling of disappointment? Maybe!

The problem with magic is that the secret is hardly ever as exciting as the magic effect it produces. That’s one of the reasons why TV shows that expose the magicians secrets never do well in the ratings over time. The whole value of magic, its charm and fascination, is in the feeling created by the magician using the props.

The props and techniques are not special in and of themselves. They are by their own nature ‘empty’. For example, there is nothing special in either a coin or a handkerchief. But when the coin is placed inside and transforms into something else, then the magic has been created. The props don’t contain this, it’s the way they are used that makes the magic. When you receive a new magic trick, you are excited about the effect you saw demonstrated and want to perform yourself. But the contents of the package don’t hold any of this, it’s up to you to create it.

So how can you avoid this feeling and get the most from the new magic trick you decided to learn? Choosing it is just the first step!

The Merchant of Magic team have created a free ebook teaching you how to get the best from the next new magic trick you intend to learn. Written by professional magicians, ‘How To Learn New Magic Tricks‘ takes you from the moment you rip open the packaging to your first performance.