I've watched an inordinate amount of magic performances these days and I learn more from watching professional and non professional magicians performing than watching anything else!
It was indeed youtube that I used to watch those performances on. And wow was it useful!
Not every magic video on YouTube is a spotty schoolkid exposing something for youtube cash -or hoping to get that elusive cash!- whilst filming their crotch and hardly being capable of an overhand shuffle.
Don't get me wrong, I HATE those and the way these idiot kids won't even bother to practise the thing they are trying to teach. And I don't mean the ones teaching magic effects that are currently on sale. I mean the ones trying to teach things that are already known by the masses...royal road tricks, stuff like that. The fact that they wont even take the time to learn such basics properly before rushing to youtube tells me enough about them that I am already wanting to avoid them before I even see it.
But let us not forget that there is a huge amount of VERY USEFUL and LEGALLY VIEWABLE video on there too!



Our very own Mr Hadyn for one

IF you can get past all that idle chatter.😉 Whew! He can ramble on.🤪

I agree. Maybe those who've had or have exposure to more professionally skilled performers, with their honed eye for detail and nuance can easily see the faults and failures more readily.

Whether I'm learning from a book or video, I'm first looking at overall mechanics, to get a sense of beginning, middle and end. Then as I continue to practice I start whittling down to the details, and subtleties.

Performers who have reached such a high level of unconscious proficiency can often leave out, or fail to mention these subtleties whether in magic or sports. They no longer recall the humps they had to overcome. In slowing down a video of a highly revered worker, I found he wasn't doing what he said he was doing and was leaving out details, which upon my discovery, made the slight far more accessible.

Back to youtube...
because some of these posters are new to a move or still practicing (I said SOME) you get insights into what they've been struggling with as newbies to the move, and/or a slightly different take on a move that can be very helpful, sort of like culling the wheat from the chaff and can be like viewing a companion who is working on the same move you are.

There are also some very adept and name recognizable (yes, I know, sometimes name does not equal proficiency) who often share their teachings and tricks.

Viewing tutorials on youtube. can be much like buying leraning material. There. are loads of releases out there that are seen as poor and deceptive and not worthy of purchase.