I'm new to magic. I've been at it for about four months and have been playing with this and that, mostly cards and coins. I've recently developed a curiosity towards mentalism. I haven't come across any beginner mentalist tricks unless we can count divining the chosen card as such. I was wondering if there are any basic mentalist tricks or does that material require more maturity than a beginner has?

I'd appreciate your thoughts,

Kevin

Hey Kevin,

It might be best to get a better understanding of magic first, before getting into mentalism. Maybe get to know the psychological aspect of magic. Study the history a bit even. Then when you think you're ready...don't go buying effects, or "tricks", but rather purchase some books on the subject that will have several, if not hundreds of different effects. Books are the way to go...whether it's magic or mentalism. You get more for your money.

Hope this helps.

-Travis

Along those lines, you would do well to study Annemann's "Practical Mental Effects," and Corinda's "13 Steps to Mentalism." Not only will they provide you will a terrific amount of practical material, but also, proper study will ground you in the rudimentary knowledge you seek to explore.

Best of luck!

Hi Kevin,
Jay Sankey also has a great DVD called 22 Blows To The Head. It's a great DVD with many nice effects which are not hard to learn!

I don't think you need to master magic before you can master mentalism. There are a few books that you can read as mentioned above. I would suggest Easy to master mental miracles. Then study it thouroughly and become very good at it.

I'm fairly new to mentalism too, and many members of the Café recommended 13 steps by corinda. I found it very useful. it's the mentalism fundamental

Hi Kevin,

being new has the advantage that you can experiment around. Do it generously . . . you might come up with some great new concepts

Andy

Kevin, I advise you to look under the section "Penny For Your Thoughts." That is the mentalist forum. That section is lower on the on the "Forum Index."

The books describe to you above are the correct way to go first. Ask the mentalist forum about where to purchase them.

Dynamike

Good advice from all above. I just want to add one or two things.

I think that an ability in magic can help with mentalism, as it gives you a foundation in presentation, misdirection, acting, and sleights that will come in useful for later on in mentalism. That said, you do not have to be an expert in magic, to be a successful mentalist, as many mentalists are very ham-fisted when it comes to performing any sleights.

In terms of magic 'tricks' that you perform, many can be twisted into a 'mental' style of presentation - for example a 'find the card' effect can be given a whole new life it it becomes a mental reveal. And this is what mentalism boils down to - PRESENTATION.

There are many effects in mentalism that are technically very easy to do. However, this by no means makes them easy effects to perform. To make the effect seem credible, entertaining and relevent takes real work, skill and practice. However, this is one of the joys of mentalism, streamlining methods so that it allows you to focus on the presentation, which you can tailor to suit you.

This is why I would wholeheartedly recommend books, over packet 'tricks'. There are countless effects out there that noone has performed, but if someone looks at them from another angle they can be remade into an effect that is performed by you.So, I agree with above that Corinda and Annemann are the best places to start, as they will give a very thorough and solid foundation.

From there, I recommend Mind Myth and Magick, and Psychological Subtelties by Banachek. DVDs can be useful, to see effects bought to life - I wholeheartedly recommend all the OSterlind DVDs you can find, Banachek's, Maven's and Cassidy's.

In terms of 'mentalism tricks', I would avoid personally most that you see, and obtain the booklets of PK time and PK touches - these are what mentalism are all about.

I hope some of this is of use, it is a lot of study, but is ultimately worth it!

Good luck,

Simon

Thanks for the replies. I'll check out the mentalism forum and decide on a book or video to purchase to see what kind of stuff it has and try to work on something.

Kevin

There is no such thing as "beginner mentalism". One needs a strong performance skill before they will even remotely begin to be good AND it is an ongoing development that takes years to really become a mentalist. Many magicians fool deceive themselves in thinking they are performing as mentalists when they are really just doing mental magic (not that there is anything wrong with mental magic, it does however receive a different response than mentalism does, both are good however).

The advice you have been given for the most part is very sound. Study Corrinda and learn it all. Don't skim it for tricks. Actually study it lesson by lesson and devlop the skills while you hone your performance skills as a magician. Develop a good strong presence on stage, learn your stagecraft and magic as well. As you develop through your magic, and as you improve upon your skills within 13 steps, add some mental magic to your tricks and learn how to present them in a strong manner. Study, practice, and continue to develop and you WILL succeed one day.

PSIncerely Yours,
Paul Alberstat

I believe you can scrape by without presentation skills in magic, at least in the friendly close-up magic sort, but not mentalism. Mentalism is veered much more towards acting, as its methods are pretty much simple magic tricks.

Thanks for the advice ThoughtReader and ToasterofDoom. As I've begun to look into it I can see what you're saying and this is perhaps what attracts me. I will be certain to follow your advice, thanks again.

Kevin

This may sound really obvious, but also make sure you watch every mentalism performance tape you can get your hands on - learn from the good and bad, ask yourself why some routines play like miracles and others like snoozefests.

Also pay more attention to tv psychics and items about paranormal events in regular shows, regardless of your feeling or beliefs. There are all sorts of useful observations you can make about presentation from studying those.

Thanks Malchat, that's an interesting set of observations. I've noticed that some mentalists do a better job than "psychics." But I suppose you're right, the "psychics" definitely have the performance down pat.

Kevin

Absolutely. Mentalism is about the presentation, I would watch as many mentalists as you can, without learning 'secrets', so you can see how it should be done.

There are a bunch of Derren Brown clips on the internet and you tube, I think that would be an excellent starting point, watching probably the best mentalist of the moment.

Simon

One book that hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet is Karl Fulves' "Self-Working Mental Magic."

While I wouldn't take the "self-working" label literally, these are easy mentalism and mental magic effects which give you a good overview of a variety of common mental techniques, while allowing you to devote your attention to the presentation, which is key in mentalism.

As has already been mentioned, Corinda's "13 Steps to Mentalism" is highly recommended as a complete course in mentalism (learning the "building blocks", if you like), as is "Annemann's Practical Mental Effects" (sold in the Dover edition as "Practical Mental Magic" - there's no difference between the two), which is a collection of classic mentalism effects by Annemann and his contemporaries.

Richard Osterlind has a series of DVDs called "Easy to Master Mental Miracles" which present, and in some cases update many classic mental effects from Annemann, Corinda and other similar works.

Foucalt,

About Fulves' "Self working..." book. Let's see, how to ask this... I've got a copy of Mark Wilson's a Complete Course in Magic. In that book there are some mental magic tricks that are pretty neat and are certainly intended for someone like me. How would you compare Fulves' work to these tricks? The tricks in Wilson's book are fairly self working, of course a lot rests on presentation and some set up and a trick or two, but other than that, not too bad. I'd appreciate yours, or anyone elses thoughts on this comparision.

Thanks,

Kevin

Fulves book (I do not own this but have researched on it, mostly to find out about "finger, finger") seems to contain a lot of good material that Mark Wilson's book does not cover, which seems to focus attention on simple card tricks. and Fulves book is pretty cheap. You can get it for I believe about six bucks used on Amazon.

ToasterofDoom has it right. Firstly, you're definitely on the right track getting the Mark Wilson book. That's a great primer on magic - you can't go wrong with that.

The mental magic section in that book is a nice little intro, with just a few tricks. A good way to learn about a few of the techniques used in mentalism. In fact, that's what's so great about Wilson's book; it gives a great overview on different types of magic, which serves to help you find what direction you want to go in.

Fulves' book would be a great next step. It's cheap too, which is nice, but it often gets overlooked because of that. It really has some nice stuff in it.

I would heartily recommend getting the Fulves book and Annemann's Practical Mental Magic (Effects), which you should be able to pick up new for well under $20, in your well-stocked local bookstore or via an online seller such as Amazon.

If you're still liking what you're reading, get Corinda's 13 Steps. A little more expensive, but it will give you a wonderful foundation.