First of all, welcome to the greatest hobby, or profession on the face of this earth!
I suggest that if you are new to the art of Magic that you just go out and buy maybe one video or a couple of killer beginner tricks, and work on them. Work on them a lot. Don't go and spend a lot of money on a bunch of other stuff because you are getting aggravated with yourself that you can't "get it."

Well, I guess that's my tip for the day
Gary

Good luck guys!!! And don't give up!!!
Remember, "Climbing the mountain is what makes the man. Getting to the top is the extra reward."

Hi Everyone,

I agree with Pyro.

It's easy with newfound enthusiasm to want to own the latest or greatest gadgets that just came on the market. However, the majority of the time, if you make your selection in haste, you often find that particular thing may not suit your act. Here's some things I would suggest.

Read... The Café has tons of info on all kinds of magic. Discover what interest you the most. Go to your local library. Hey it's free!!

Work on only three effects. Yuppers three, so that you can do them in your sleep or at least so that it becomes second nature. Only then go on to something else.

That's my two cents

Oh and one last thing... keep a sense of humor :O)

The above posts contain great advice.

Something I would like to add is for beginners to not overlook the value of books. There are a lot of great beginner's books out there that will introduce one to magic. Many of them are listed in the thread at the top of the beginner's forum here.

I do agree that the beginner would be wise to pick a few things to work on and move slowly. It is far better to be able to perform a few effects well and entertainingly than to be working with several half-learned tricks.

Ditto Chrystal and Emily. When you first start, it's like "I want to do that and that and that and that..." I'm still like that!! But it will be better for you and your spectators if you will get a few tricks under your belt that you do superbly before you try to shoot the works. And tap this resource as much as you can - The Magic Café. I wish so bad that something like this had existed 13 years ago when I was learning magic in Nowheres-ville, TN.

I would also suggest you look around the area that you are living and find someone else that is into Magic.

The Internet and Videos are great, but there is nothing that beats a good backroom session with Magic. Learning from someone else, and having that friendship not only makes Magic easier to learn, it makes it easier to keep interested in.

John

I hesitate to say this because anyone newly enthused by magic will never heed this advice, but here it is:

Read the old classic magic books.

There's something fascinating knowing that despite our modern technology and thinking, most of us would be completely fooled by an old time master magician and their old time tricks.

I've seen time and time again where someone is fooled by a trick only to be told "Oh, that's in Tarbell's course in magic, volume 3," or some variation.

The other advice I cannot help but give:

Magic is a performing art.

Take classes in anything having to do with performing: ballet, modern dance, mime, acting, stagecraft, history of theater, juggling, playwriting, public speaking, salesmanship... anything at all.

At the beginning, you may not even see a connection between some of the other performing arts and magic. ("Why do I need to learn to dance if I don't want to be like Jeff McBride?") But again, magic is about performing.

So to repeat again:

Read old magic books. You'll get history, atmosphere and maybe even a trick to fool those who only know the new stuff.

Learn about performing. Nothing is ever wasted.

Bobdomeros,

EXCELLENT advice! And something I haven't seen in these posts before. You're absolutely right. Thanks for counseling the newbies on this.

A good performer can make even a cup and ball routine look great. A bad performer can muck up even the greatest self-performing gaff.

Aside from the great advice on books and videos that's here, I think something also needs to be said for your approach to magic.

When you're picking out 3 or so effects to work on, pick something you *enjoy*! If you're not enjoying yourself, your routine will seem more like a job than entertainment. Have fun with it! That'll also help you to enjoy your practices more and get more out of them.

I'll see you at the top.

Advice for a newbie? Okay...

Magic happens in the mind. To make this happen for all the folks in your audience you need to make sure the routines are FOR the audience.

It gets tough to keep this perspective as you learn more and spend time around magicians. Try to keep a focus on the responses you get from non-magicians. The more you can read people, the more you can refine your work to make if effective FOR people.