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Mayavi New user 2 Posts |
I am a complete newbie to the world of magic and want to explore the art form. I want to learn it sincerely and need your advice on how and where to begin. I think I want to start with coin and card tricks . I can devote 1.5-2 hours of practice daily. I am from Victoria BC and would like to meet some magicians in Victoria as well. I would highly appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance.
Enjoy Life
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mlippo Inner circle Trieste (Italy) 1227 Posts |
Welcome to the beautiful world of magic!
You seem to have clear ideas on what you like. Here's some generic advice. 1. Try learning from books first, rather than DVDs 2. If you like coins buy Bobo's Modern Coin Magic. You find it as a book and as a pdf (I think). It has got all the basics for a VERY small price. Or buy Shigeo Futagawa's beginners book (don't know the title in English, sorry). See also stuff from Richard Kaufmann. If you really prefer videos, then David Roth has a series of DVD of basic coin magic. 3. As for cards is concerned the best as today (in my opinion of course) is the Card College series by Roberto Giobbi. It's five volumes volumes (but there are also three dedicated to self-working card tricks). Buy the first two at the same time. That's the basics. Then move to the volumes 3 to 5. A good AND cheap alternative (although a bit outdated) is The Royal Road to Card Magic by Hugard/Braue (Dover edition). Once you've got the basics then move to books by Harry Lorayne (lots a good material and usually not too hard), but also Aldo Colombini, Nick Trost, Karl Fulves, just to name a few. Lybrary.com has an enormous variety of ebooks you can purchase. 4. Watch a lot of YouTube videos but ONLY TO SEE PROFESSIONALS PERFORMING THEIR MATERIAL!!! Don't look for tutorials of tricks. They are always badly performed by kids who ain't nothing better to do than exposing methods and techniques for one very specific reason: they have no real magic personality and that makes 'em feel important. 5. See and talk to other magicians. I've been to Victoria. I seem to remember there was a magic shop. It was closed when I was there (a Sunday I think). Does it still exit? If you hang around there a bit, you'll be able to meet other people with the same interest. And that usually is good, although it depends on your attitude and the other people's attitude as well. 6. Read books on theory as well. Eugene Burger, Giobbi himself, Ascanio, Darwin Ortiz and many others. 7. Last but not least: don't waste too much time on forums. They devour the time you'd better be spending practising and rehearsing (no, they are not the same thing. Read Eugene Burger's books. Oh I've said that already, haven't I?) Hope I've been helpful mlippo |
Andy Gemini Regular user England 119 Posts |
That is great advice from mlippo - I use Royal Road, Karl Fulves Self Working Card Tricks and Bobos Modern Coin Magic - all are great places to start, in my opinion.
If you want a book which covers even more material such as sponge balls, ropes etc look for Mark Wilsons Course In Magic - an excellent book, which also contains cards and coins. Good luck and have fun! |
lcwright1964 Special user Toronto 569 Posts |
The CAM home page lists this as a magic shop in Vic. There may be others:
http://www.magictrick.com I am just coming back to card magic after dabbling in it as a pre-teen. All I can say is that I wish I had the internet as a kid. The opportunities here for finding information and networking opportunities and advice is just stupendous. You will discover with googling that material of dubious provenance is all over the place so you have to use discretion. I started out getting some of the great books--I have Royal Road, I just got the Dover reprint of Expert Card Technique (my childhood copy issued in Canada by Coles Publishing is a bulky thing), Scarne on Card Tricks was a big fave for some tricks, I have Erdnase and other Hugard (though largely for historical interest), and I have just ordered cheap used copies of the Fulves duet from an Amazon reseller. Giobbi seems awesome but not cheap. I can't suggest much about coin stuff since it isn't my interest, but I have the Bobo on order--there are cheap used and new copies all over the the Amazon Marketplace. I am thinking of joining Toronto's magic club. You might want to check out http://www.victoriamagiccircle.com for your club. Les |
lcwright1964 Special user Toronto 569 Posts |
I forgot--stock up on Bicycle cards. Best deal I have found is a specially issued four-pack--two black, two red--for ten bucks at WalMart. Red backs are the standard performer's tool, with some opting for blue, but I think the black are fine for performing and are just great for practicing. You can buy in bulk elsewhere, but really I haven't been able to find a unit price of much under three bucks, including shipping, unless one buys a couple dozen or more. You will go thru a lot of cards. I have had one black Bike deck in my hands continually since before Xmas, and this sucker is dead now--dirty and soft and sticky. I wouldn't even want to risk stranger card work with any of them since their wear will make them stick out like a swollen thumb in a fresher deck, so they will be relegated soon to practicing tearing and folding tricks. But the good thing about card magic is that our tools are commonplace and cheap. My spouse has no problem with me rekindling my boyhood love, especially when she knows of too many midlife-crisising men who opt for much more pricey pastimes like boats, classic cars, golf memberships, etc.
Have fun! |
Zephury Elite user Hollywood, FL 488 Posts |
Mlippo's advice is exceptional. Listen to him! I strongly suggest J.B. Bobo's "Modern Coin Magic" as well. Mark Wilson's complete course in Magic is a very useful book as well but I'm astounded that no one has recommended "Tarbell's Complete Course in Magic." It's an absolute staple for any magician to own. It's a bit on the pricey side because of how big it is, it's also quite old (the 1920's!) but it will teach you a lot of very useful things. If you're serious about magic and you can afford it, you should definitely get it. You can also try getting torrents/PDF's online for free. Just make sure you have anti-virus software to prevent running in to viruses from those sorts of things.
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mlippo Inner circle Trieste (Italy) 1227 Posts |
Quote:
On 2014-01-08 11:11, Zephury wrote: Thanks a lot. Tarbell is certainly a good advice but the OP is oriented towards cards and coins. Tarbell is really complete so deals with all branches. I have a pdf found free, but it is not the same version you find in eight (?) hardbound volumes, but I think it's a quite olderr and smaller version of the work. Although worth having, mind you... mlippo |
mlippo Inner circle Trieste (Italy) 1227 Posts |
Quote:
On 2014-01-08 10:36, lcwright1964 wrote: Oh, well. There's always time for that... :) |
Bulla Special user Honolulu, HI 674 Posts |
As far as an alternative to Card College, I would actually recommend picking up Close up Card Magic by Harry Lorayne. Royal Road to Card Magic is ok, but unfortunately there are a couple of things taught in the book on handling cards that aren't considered good nowadays. Magic is a growing art that is constantly evolving but the main thing is to obtain a good foundation on the basics.
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neocatalyst New user 71 Posts |
Take advice from people you don't know with a grain of salt. Find local magicians that you admire and trust their opinion more.
Corollary: find as many magic clubs, rings, circles in your area. |
Mayavi New user 2 Posts |
Thanks mlippo for your wonderful advice. Thanks to everyone who replied to my query. I think I will start with Bobo's coin magic and Card college. I heard that the trick shop in Victoria is closed now. I will look into the magic club in Victoria.
Thanks again.
Enjoy Life
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MichaelKRose New user 16 Posts |
Quote:
On 2014-01-08 11:11, Zephury wrote: Even more importantly, make sure any material you get in this manner is definitely free of copyright. Even "old" books can still be protected under copyright, depending on when the original author died. I'm not sure about Tarbell; perhaps someone here knows? Michael |
algebraic Inner circle 1008 Posts |
Mayavi, welcome to The Café.
If I had to start over, I would start with the two books you just mentioned. |
djurmann Inner circle thinks time to practice and stop writing 1481 Posts |
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ceafin New user Texas 7 Posts |
Quote:
On 2014-01-08 10:36, lcwright1964 wrote: Yep! |
AndreJ New user 90 Posts |
The number one tip I think all aspiring magicians should follow is this:
Don´t try to learn as many tricks as possible. Instead, learn a few tricks (maximum of 5) and learn them well. Of course, you could (and should) learn as many sleights as possible, but I would suggest you focus on a particular field, like cards OR coins OR ropes. Don´t try to learn all at once. When I started out in magic, I was a real "trickster", buying as many tricks as I could and never took the time to learn them. I wanted the fast satisfaction of "knowing the secret" and once I got that, I headed on to the next trick, and the next, and the next... Don´t do the same mistake I did. Good luck
My background: Loved magic for 25 years, always wanted to do paid gigs but never had the courage. Faced my fears some years ago and went pro.
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