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Duckfan New user 7 Posts |
Hi there, I just became a member today but have lurked for quite some time. Have found some excellent info on here and respect all of it. Here are my questions I will be 42 on Saturday and am wondering if that is too old to start learning card magic or any magic for that matter. Card magic seems to fascinate me as well as mentalism and I will mostly use both for parties, friends, family etc.
Secondly money not being an option where do I begin? I have narrowed down my choices to Ammars ETMCM, Crash Course 1 and 2,Royal Road dvd's, Card College, and Born to perform. Any others Recommendations would be appreciated. So where do I begin? DVDs or books? Which ones. What about Mentalism? Sorry about the long post I just don't want to buy to much stuff at once. Thanks in advance. |
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Josh Riel Inner circle of hell 1995 Posts |
The only problem with learning magic at any age is buying too much stuff at once. Age really isn't (Usually?) that relevant.
Personally, if I had it all to do over again, I would get the Mark Wilson book, and only that. I would have worked through it, then decided where I wanted to go with my magic. I would have ended up where I am quicker and less expensively. Ask around (Like your doing) Pick one, start at the beginning and don't fall into the trap of buying your way to magic.
Magic is doing improbable things with odd items that, under normal circumstances, would be unnessecary and quite often undesirable.
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professorwhut Inner circle Posts R US sold me 1353 Posts |
I have been in magic since I was 25 years old. I never really got into card magic until a couple of years ago at the age of 45. So I do not think that 42 is too late to start.
Go with Mark Wilson and Card College to start with. Good luck.
After much soul searching about a signature, I decided not to have one.
TG Pop [aka ProfessorWhut] |
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Jaz Inner circle NJ, U.S. 6111 Posts |
Age is not a problem. Severe problems with your hands may limit your sleight of hand work but other than that, I see no problems.
It seem that your interest at this time is cards. The "Royal Road" DVD along with the book "Card College". "Ammar’s Easy To Master Card Miracles Volumes 1-6" would be my choices for cards. For a little of everything, I agree with Josh about the "Complete Course in Magic " by Mark Wilson. Harry Lorayne's books and videos are a great addition as well. His "The Magic Book" has a variety of great stuff for what you want to do. I also suggest you look here for some opinions on magic resources: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......m=41&113 and here: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......m=41&231 Welcome and Good Luck. |
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gaddy Inner circle Agent of Chaos 3528 Posts |
Josh is right. Don't buy too much stuff- you'll drown in too much info.
*due to the editorial policies here, words on this site attributed to me cannot necessarily be held to be my own.*
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Father Photius Grammar Host El Paso, TX (Formerly Amarillo) 17161 Posts |
Your age isn't a problem. Many a fine magician has started at your age or older. And Josh hit the nail on the head. Us more "senior" folks can afford to buy a lot of stuff, and it is easy to do, and most of it will sit on shelves and collect dust. If your interested in cards, then get something like Royal Road to Card Magic (either book or DVD) and work through it before you go on to anything else. If you are interested in a more broad framework of magic, get Mark Wilson's book and work through it, and don't buy till you have. You will save a ton of money and and not end up with a lot of junk.
"Now here's the man with the 25 cent hands, that two bit magician..."
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Hearttau Elite user New Jersey: Exit 15 E 423 Posts |
I'll be 45 next month. I started reacquainting myself with performing magic last year after a 25 year hiatus. Believe me, the great people around here will get you up and running in no time. My advice: focus on one area at a time. Start with Mark Wilson's "Complete Course in Magic" book for a great general overview of various areas of magic.
Try not to buy on a whim. Research will save you a lot of disappointment and moolah. Most of all make sure to enjoy yourself as you're learning and don't miss noticing the wonder and joy in the faces of those for whom you perform! Welcome to the Magic Café.
Lentidigitator: “A magic artist who performs slow motion magic”... Rene Lavand
"Peace and all good"... St. Francis "Hold on to your joy!"... Me http://mysite.verizon.net/hearttau/ |
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marty.sasaki Inner circle 1117 Posts |
I started getting serious about this stuff just a little while ago, after I turned 50. My only regret so far was that I took too long to get involved.
Is there a good magic shop in your area? You can tell a good shop by whether they ask you any questions about what you are interested in and how much you know. If all they want to do is make a sale and they start salivating when you say, "I don't know, what can you tell me", then turn and run away. If money is an issue, just get one book to see if you can learn magic by using books. If you can learn by reading, then you will get more bang for the buck with books. I don't know if they are still available, but if they are, I would look into Bill Tarr's "Now You See it, Now You Don't". It has a little bit of a bunch of things so you can see if you want to continue with cards, or maybe you will like coins, etc. Also see if there is a club in the area. I've found a lot of really nice folks at magic clubs who are eager to help you out if they can. It's amazing how having someone to ask questions of and who can watch you to see what you are doing can really accelerate your learning. You will make some great friends as well.
Marty Sasaki
Arlington, Massachusetts, USA Standard disclaimer: I'm just a hobbyist who enjoys occasionally mystifying friends and family, so my opinions should be viewed with this in mind. |
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Hearttau Elite user New Jersey: Exit 15 E 423 Posts |
Here are some links for the above mentioned books.
http://www.amazon.com/Now-You-See-Dont-Lessons/dp/0394722027 http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Wilsons-Compl......_b_img_2
Lentidigitator: “A magic artist who performs slow motion magic”... Rene Lavand
"Peace and all good"... St. Francis "Hold on to your joy!"... Me http://mysite.verizon.net/hearttau/ |
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Duckfan New user 7 Posts |
Wow, thanks so much for the responses. I have learned a lot just by lurking around these forums. I am leaning towards a DVD purchase but still not sure. Card college sounds great as well.
I see what you all mean by this being overwhelming at first. It has taken me 2 months just to try and figure out what to buy. The longer I look the more I see that I want. Thanks again to all. |
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matt kemp Veteran user 312 Posts |
Generally, DVD's do not contain as much information as books. Mark Wilson's book has hundreds, maybe even a thousand tricks. The main advantage that DVD's have over books is that DVD's allow you to see what a move should look like. However, many magicians tend to immitate the performer on the DVD.
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abc Inner circle South African in Taiwan 1081 Posts |
One day in the very near future you are going to be at your friend's house having a beer and he'll ask you how the magic is going and you'll say great give me a pack of cards and maybe he won't have one. Then you are going to be very grateful that you bought Mark Wilson's book.
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Corbett Inner circle Indiana 1161 Posts |
I would echo what most other posts have stated. It is tempting as a beginner, or even for a magician of 25 years to consume too many "tricks" or learning aids. Just look at the dealer area of any convention. Magicians buying stuff and filling suitcases with new tricks and DVDs.
As a beginner, try to learn the fundamentals first, and then build from there. Royal Road to Card Magic is probably the best foundation for someone who is interested in card magic. Buying that book alone could be studied for 6 months. My only advice would be to not spread yourself too thin. Magic is one of the coolest and rewarding hobbies there is. Good luck and have fun!! |
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Josh Riel Inner circle of hell 1995 Posts |
The biggest issue others I have known, and of course myself, has been the frustration at doing magic and no one is fooled.
The prime cause is most people (Me included) Buy their first couple of years of magic. And perform it so poorly that even a blind great aunt can see what's going on and anyone awake when your done are trying to decide which rafter they can hang themselves from.... A little dramatized, but hopefully you get my point. Learn a couple of card tricks, a couple of coin tricks, and a couple of something else well (This idea is not original to me). Then you can do a couple in the right situation and truly baffle and amaze (Except for the great aunt as she's blind) Don't buy your way into magic, practice it, develop a presentation style. You'll be a god compared to the majority of magicians after a couple of years. Plus you ll save time and frustration.
Magic is doing improbable things with odd items that, under normal circumstances, would be unnessecary and quite often undesirable.
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KidMagic Regular user Bradford 183 Posts |
42 is not to late to start! Even if you can't get that into magic, it will be a fun hobby!
Zach |
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Denis Bastible Loyal user Buffalo, New York 293 Posts |
I was really into magic from age 10 - 16 and put it down until last year - except for occasional card tricks that stayed in my mind. I just picked up the desire to get back into magic last year and I am 45. I have been learning card sleights all over again with hands that are not as nimble as they used to be.
One thing that is better is that I am much more confident than I was as a kid that I am not getting busted by my audience. In any event, I think the Wilson course is the best and clearest book to start with- even if solely to do card magic. I did make a mistake of buying numerous packet tricks upon my return to magic that I was not ready to perform, much less understand. One example, I had no clue what an Elmsley Count was and the instructions assumed you possessed that knowledge. Well, thanks to Wilson and the internet, I have learned and remembered a lot in the past year. |
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Sk8erBoi9305 Regular user 133 Posts |
42's not late as long as your hands work fine. some people get joint problems even earlier than that so, if you're hands are fine go for it.
I HIGHLY recommend crash course 1 and 2. I've been into card magic for a little over a year, and I still use the things I learned from CC1 every day. books may teach you the same thing, but the benefit of actually seeing it done is priceless. |
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abc Inner circle South African in Taiwan 1081 Posts |
Card magic is not all about sleights and practice. A lot of it has to do with making the cards "come alive". There are hundreds if not thousands of self working card tricks that are great. I was third in a recent IBM competition in Taiwan and I used an effect (parts thereof) from Karl Fulves' self working card tricks.
I still use many self working effects from a variety of sources. My point is I don't think you have to see it done. I think you have to build your knowledge base much faster than your sleight base. There are principles inherent to card magic and decks of cards that you need no sleights for and that are almost impossible to figure out mathematically unless you are a genius which is highly unlikely. How many top level mathematicians can see a trick with the Gilbreath principle and figure it out. I am going to guess less than 1% if you add that they are not sure if you used a sleight or a mathematical principle to accomplish the effect. Therefor I think learning a lot of things from a book like Wilson's is far better than any DVD. Maybe even think about getting Karl Fulves' Self working and More Self Working card tricks. They are surprisingly useful. |
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Duckfan New user 7 Posts |
Thanks again to all for the replies and help. I have continued to do my research and I am going to purchase Card College 1 just to see if I can learn from a book or not. I am really considering buy Ammars ETMCM volumes 1-3 for starters my question about this is does he actually teach on these or is it a collection of tricks? Also would this be about the same as purchasing the Royal Road DVD's?
Please respond as I would like to order these soon. Thanks again |
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professorwhut Inner circle Posts R US sold me 1353 Posts |
Yes, Ammar does teach the tricks on the DVD's.
3 Ammar volumes would cost you a little more that the Royal Road DVD (get the Paul Wilson version).
After much soul searching about a signature, I decided not to have one.
TG Pop [aka ProfessorWhut] |
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