Recently I've come across many posts on this site by people new in the art of magic that go something like this, "I've just bought this trick, and this gimmick, and this trick, and this and this and this, what should I get next?" and I can answer that question in one word:
Nothing.
Now many of you may say but I'm a beginner, don't I need to learn as much as I can? The answer to that simply is no. Being a magician is not just knowing how to do tricks and the secrets but lies much more in the performance of the performer. Now I understand how exciting it is to get new magic and constantly wanting to buy something new. But why buy anything new, when you already have a plethora of tricks at your disposal you've yet to master? The reason I feel qualified to give this advice is because I was in this exact position when starting magic. I would search my favorite online stores for the coolest tricks I could find and buy them. I highly regret this method. Though I now knew the methods to these fantastic effects, I lacked the necessary sleights and skills to perform them and much of the time threw the effect to the wayside. It's like trying to take a calculus class without knowing how to perform basic math such as 2 + 2 and expecting to make an A in that class.

So now that I've said what not to do, what should you do? Well this is what I wish I had done and would encourage others wanting to learn magic. I would encourage someone to start with a book. There's a wonderful list of books for beginners on this site which is a great resource. Buy books and learn the basic sleights and moves taught in these books. Then after you learn them, master them. You'd be amazed at some of the tricks you can do with just basic moves. So maybe my earlier answer of "Nothing" is not necessarily the truth. Spend your money on books and DVDs and master these basics and then when you do start purchasing those amazing new effects, you'll be surprised at how much better they now look. If you have already fallen into the trap like I did, it's okay. Put the effects aside for a while and master the basics. That is currently what I am doing, and I'm much happier with myself and how my magic now looks.
Now that is not to say throw away, or more accurately, put away, every thing you've ever bought. Some things such as utility gimmicks and the such are a great way to learn sleight of hand as well as performance. But remember, most gimmicks are made to enhance an effect, not be an effect.

Now I would like to also say that I am posting this because I really want to help other beginning magicians to be the best they can be. I learned magic the wrong way and don't want others to make the same mistakes I did. I'm still a beginner and am still learning and never wish to stop learning. Hope this post helps some of you out there.

Thanks for the advice Drew. It's always nice hearing this bit of advice as this is still something I am making myself come to understand. Only started learning the craft a few months ago. I picked up Royal Road to Card Magic (Book and DVD) and a simple Cups and Balls set with a DVD. It's not much but as I practice more I understand that the better I become at these the more magic I can do with them (so no need for the additional investment yet)

Glad to be of help, heybobby,08! I think you're on the right track! I sure wish I had started like that. As a matter of fact, I also am going through the Royal Road to Card Magic. Even though I know most (if not all) the moves in the book, that does not mean I know how to perform them. There's a big difference between knowing how a trick or move is done and how to actually perform it. It's just an example of how I'm going back and starting much of my magic learning at square one!

I agree with you and am currently trying to follow the same path. About a decade ago I splurged on numerous magic purchases but quickly lost interest...maybe through frustration or lack of focus but who knows.

I recently dug out my box of treasures and am starting to work my way through Card College volume one. Thus is not always easy. Just last week I did some online shopping for a close-up pad and returned to the world of temptation. It is hard to resist "jaw dropping", "clean", "fully examinable", "revolutionary", and especially "easy". Above all, the excitement of new gimmicks and tricks IS exciting. So although I am dedicated to being
focused going forward, I am not holding myself to complete asceticism...just looking to maintain balance.

Hopefully my path will include many of the advertising adjectives above (and more) but I am no longer naive enough to try to buy "easy".

It was so satisfying when I finally got myself a C/S coin. I did the hard work with regular coin magic for a year, so by the time I jumped into the pool of gimmicks, I knew how to swim. I was able to truly appreciate how to use it straight away, whereas if I got it at the start, I would have learnt one basic trick then put it away. Grab Bobo's Coin Magic, a good card book and a good all round book of non-gimmicked stuff, and you really don't need anything else for at least a year!

Agreed David, I would have had a better go of it if I hadn't jumped to a C/S so soon. But it was that trick that inspired me in the first place. so again, there are two sides to that coin for me (sorry for the tired cliche / pun).

That's a hard message to take when you're interested in something with so much to capture your attention, but I agree. I remember years ago learning the moves of some effects and being disappointed because I knew I wasn't able to do them (at that time). For anyone completely new, just stick with the basic moves for a while. There is a time when you can only play the scales on your piano, but everything else comes from that.

About this time last year I decided to turn down any new effect, video, book, anything that came up. So I haven't purchased anything magic in a year and it's done me well.

That's so true Robert. Loved the piano analogy. I think it's a great idea, especially for beginners, to treat buying magic as a very rare treat. Always master the basics and what you have before you dive in for more. You'll save a lot of money and you'll be a better magician.

At the same time, I might not say to a new person to hold off any purchase for a year. It would be good to have a treat occasionally, but I'd say to wait a month or so before buying. Usually the initial thrill wears out by then anyway.

One aspect of learning magic that seems missing these days is that of a Mentor. Not the same as a practice partner that is ideal also, but one who will guide your learning. In my early days a Mentor would not teach you a new effect until you had demonstrated proficiency with the earlier one. At that point you could "ramp up" to mastery of that effect and variations, or decide that approach was not for you and seek a new type of effect. However, some skill in every theme of magic was expected. There was no concept of buy something today and perform tomorrow __ or "it isn't my thing" until you had practiced and performed it. -- like scales on the piano and learning some "old favorites" just because you can.

Thus, there should be little difference between "buying" a new effect and finding a new one in a library book. (except the price). That new effect is a portal into understanding magic, yourself and your audience.

When you are advanced enough through discipline, practice and "presence" you might then look at an effect performed by others in person or even YouTube and say, "How might I do that?" -- and create a way of emulating that effect without buying anything. Then you are ready to Mentor someone else.

Consider performing magic to be a Journey rather than a box in the mail. The most you can ever buy is the "trick" or "gimmick." Wouldn't you rather learn magic?

One of the Maskelyns--John Neville if memory serves--in an interview was once asked, "How many tricks do you know?" And his answer was, "Twelve." There is a deeper meaning though. He was not saying how many tricks he new the workings of, because considering his pedigree, he probably knew the working of several hundreds, maybe thousands. What he meant was that any given time he had perfected about twelve routines, some of which were composed of several separate effects. My spin on this is if you already own twelve tricks and haven't practiced them to perfection to the point that you can perform them without thinking about them, concentrating more on presentation than how they work, then you don't need to by another trick until you've got those first 12 down.
Another point is to avoid being the guy who buys every new dealer item out there only to put them in a closet and never perform them--that's a collector not a magician--or to only sell everything for pennies on the dollar at the annual ring or assembly flea market. I don't know what to call the latte, but magician doesn't fit at all and neither does collector. I will confess that I have picked up some cool things for little coin from guys like that over the years. But if you want to be a magician avoid becoming one of them.

Drew,
Good advice. I have purchased a lot of magic over the years. I really can't say that I regret it, though. It has helped me to develop my own effects and routines that drew from some of the best things I purchased.

I think it is rather unfortunate that in magic you sometimes have to buy a lot of frogs before one is a real prince.

One of the things that has helped me is to keep lists of my favorite effects in various categories (Ex: card with gimmicks, impromptu card, coin with gimmick, impromptu coin, etc). I continue to update these lists and focus on performing these effects.

KJ

Http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=41

I think I'll print this out and tack it to the wall. I need to read this regularly.

It sure is easy to get caught up in the rush of it all -- all these perspectives, approaches and "Take it from me kid, this is a must-have". My particular vice is books. What a vortex that can be to fall into.

Well said.

I've been doing magic for less than a year and I learned this early on. It only took two or three gimmicks coming in the mail before I stopped getting them and bought books instead. The library is a boy magicians best friend!

I'm glad to see my first real post here on the Café getting such good responses. I'd also like to add that I do not regret any of the effects I did buy earlier on because it did help me to discover what kind of effects I liked and what kind of effects to avoid later. It also opens up a world of possibilties later on when I want to actually routine a show after mastering the basics. All the replies on the post have been great, and I want to encourage new magicians to never stop learning and learn the best way you can!

Good orig post; thread

Thanks for this post. Agree 100%
Like many newbies, I bought a bunch of "cool" stuff most of which is now sitting in a drawer.
I bought Mark Wilson's complete course and a few DVD's and started over. I've learned cups and balls, sponge balls,a few rope tricks and quite a few card tricks.
I think I've gotten much better. I think audiences appreciate magic much more when it's not so proppy (is that a word?). I think audiences can recognize the skill that is involved with a nice cups and balls routine or a trick done with a card deck that is completely examinable

Perkins, I think you have a good thought. Might have to print this out and put it on my mirror as well.

I just started learning almost 2 months ago. I've been so tempted to buy so many awesome looking gimmicks since I started, but luckily I started lurking on here a bit before finally joining and saw others saying essentially this same thing. So far I've invested in a few books, most recently Royal Road to Card Magic and Bobo's Modern Coin Magic. Man, I'm glad started reading on the Café early! One of my first purchases was Joshua Jay's Magic: The Complete Course. Great book as well and comes with a DVD.

So far I recently bought a folding quarter, which I absolutely love and have used extensively to make my co-workers freak lol, and I just ordered the Magic-Makers cups and balls set, which I look forward to playing with. Other than that, I do want to get a TT and silk, but I think that's going to be the sum of my trick purchases for a few months, otherwise I'll never be able to focus on any one or two things at a time!