Hello, Everyone!

Here's a super-quick video of me performing a short and sweet one coin routine...nothing new and exciting, very basic, but I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially considering I know very little about coin magic and am essentially a novice.

Thank you for your comments and advice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjiZaItdBO8

Michael Kras

Great stuff, Michael.

Okay - since you are a serious student, here's an exercise:

Get a small brown paper bag of small wrapped candies and a bunch of English Pennies or Half Dollars. And, circumstances where you have access to children and parents. Always ask beforehand. Reach into the bag, take out a candy and ask the parent if it's okay to do a trick for the child and they get a candy. Let them know you are working on something, and it would help you.

Okay, quietly fingerpalm a candy in the hand that will be your receiving hand for the coin pass. Now, get the child's attention and ask them to help you with a question. Reach into the bag and take out a coin. Do the coin pass into the hand holding out the candy. Then, close your receiving hand and offer both fists to the child and ask them whether they would prefer what's in one hand or the other. If they pick the hand with the candy, you did the pass well enough and, with parent's permission, you give them the candy - and thank them. If not well enough, show them the coin and either (1) give the parent the coin, then reach into the bag for a candy for the child or (2) give the child the coin and let the parent speak up if they feel it appropriate - either way, thank them.

So, do you really want to learn how to make a coin pass work or ...

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Next exercise:

You have two small paper bags and four coins. You show four as three, using the utility switch, and quietly put all four coins in the first bag. You let them know you want their help to see if your magic works. You reach into the bag with the coins, remove one and do the pass, then pretend to put the coin into the other bag. You then reach into the bag with the coins and extract the palmed coin as the second coin and repeat the process. Once more. Then reach into your pocket, leaving the extra coin, and take out any old thing and use it to make a magic gesture over the bag that's supposed to have the coins in it. Now, ask them whether they would prefer to have what's in the first bag or the second bag.
If you are clever, you can arrange to have candies in the second bag - but that's not really the point of this exercise.

Best wishes,

Jon

A few points:

1. With the muscle pass, the whole illusion is created because the minimum of movement creates an unexpected amount of propulsion. So the less hand movement, the better.

2. Normally, I hate hearing the words "right hand" and "left hand" used in patter... as it's almost patronizing. WE CAN SEE WHICH HAND THE COIN IS IN. But, in this instance, it's not so bad because you're demonstrating a phenomena between the two hands. Still, I'd like to see you come up with better patter for that first phase.

3. Are you filming this in the bathroom? Copy cat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_EugnzIGNE

4. Don't speak during the actual muscle pass. Pause- it's a strong effect, and you want their entire focus on the coin. Your words lessen the effect if I have to listen as well as watch.

5. Come up with a closing remark, other than going "tsk" accompanied by a nod.

More ideas...

Have you thought about incorporating a watch into this effect, as a production item?

Is there a way to SHOW time going backwards? Perhaps you could rewind all of your movements, as well. Or, even say some words backwards as you rewind.

That way, time is effected entirely, not just solely on the coin.

Anywho, that should be enough talk for now.

Scott.

Thank you, Scott, for the excellent advice... All stuff to work on. I've only been doing the muscle pass for 2 months, and it's great to get some good points on it as I learned it via trial and error, not a legitimate teaching source.

Mr. Townsend, thank you for the fantastic false transfer test exercise... I'll have to try it out; it seems to be a great learning tool. I appreciate you taking the time to type that out for me.

Thanks for watching, everyone!

I would adjust the patter a bit so that you are saying what is about to happen right before it does, instead of explaining what just happened right afterwards. For example, dropping the coin into the hand and explaining that you are going to rewind time, and then doing the muscle pass (while not talking) would play better I think.

It's good to see all the help offered.

Hey Mike,


I think you can do it better.. working hard on MP, it's a nice thing to do.

You may want to take a look at me doing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ72U6TTB5c

This is one I performed at FISM '09.