Hello guys! I started magic around a month ago, and I'm about 13. I know a few card tricks, and I made a few of my own up with a combination of simple moves. I know the french drop , spider vanish and I know how to make invisible coins appear on peoples shoulders I can dribble, swing and swivel cut, double lift, double undercut, riffle shuffle to perfection. BUT. I suck at patter. Its sad. Its also true. I need some help I mean, I just don't have the confidence that I need in some tricks. If there is any experianced UK magician up for lessons, tell me. If not, just someone to talk to on skype or something for some advice would be really cool. I know most basic card moves, and very basic coin ones. I also know some sponge magic, though its hard for me to be confident because sometimes the reaction is " Awwhhh dats cool " And sometimes its " Lol wut that sux " and inevitably I focus on the bad ones xD I just want someone I can talk to for some advice and stuff, more directly then a forum, skype or MSN or email I would really like to carry on magic and I practice as much as I can. Anyway if anyone is interested, would be awesome ! =D <3

Hey, I think that's how we all started....master the moves, botch the presentation.

Well, I can't physically give you lessons since I live in the USA. However, I suggest you keep posting on this site and other magic forums that you can find on the internet. That way, you can (digitally) talk to many wonderful entertainers and magicians.

Second, look for some magicians in your area. Google em, whatever. Just find them and contact them and see if one day, perhaps, you could meet them. That would help you sooo much.

I have tried to google magicians in Hampshire, UK and have only found one whom I have added on skype. Thanks for the advice ^^ I also have a question : Im working on a trick currently where I double lift the top two cards and say okay so the jack is on the top, when really its the second from top. I then put the real top card somewhere in the middle of the deck, riffle through the cards and say, well this jack is a stubborn one because he has just hopped right back to the top of the deck. at which point I turn over the top card and it is of course the jack. Im looking for some good patter ideas for this trick? It literally is justn a double lift, and against magicicans it would be easy to see but against my friends and family it should be fine. Ideas?

You've entered the world of Ambitious Card(:

I'm 15, and have been into magic for a few years. I didn't have a mentor, just taught myself from books and dvds. My best advice would be to join a magicians club, like a monthly club. There you will find really experienced magicians all willing to help you.

I'm up for teaching you a bit, I'll skype you if you want, tell you a few things if you want - I'm pretty busy but sure I can fit in helping a magician out(:

I'm not a veteran magician, I've been in magic a little less than a year, but this is what I have started doing for patter though lately I haven't been performing because I'm practicing manipulation. Anyways what I do is I have a three subject notebook. First subject: sleights and tricks I create. Second section: not really sure. Third section: patter and repertoire. It's a lot easier for me to come up with patter on paper with a pencil than it is to come up with patter in my head. Basically I write the name of the trick I am coming up with patter for on the top of the page, then brainstorm ideas, then make a rough draft of the patter. My first experience really performing was busking at a local farmers market. I was juggling so I didn't talk much but I got a lot of confidence from that.

There are some books out there. Darwin Ortiz: Strong Magic, Eugene Burger: The Art of Magic, both focus on making magic stronger.

Re patter there are two schools of thought: The Whit Haydn school - copy the patter of pro's until you have learned enough to create your own.

The Eugene Burger schhool of thought: Why do you want to sound like everyone else? Develop your own patter, write it down as a script. Refine and polish.

There aren't any shortcuts I think, but you can post you tube videos and ask people to critique them here.

Danny

A friend just gave me a copy of the first season of "Penn & Teller Fool Us", a show filmed in the UK. If you haven't seen it try to look it up. There are several fantastic Magicians performing on each episode trying to win a chance to open for Penn & Teller in Las Vegas. The styles of magic and presentations are quite varied and it is a real learning experience to watch them perform.

Seeking a mentor is admirable but much can be learned by watching as many magicians as you can. Search the forums here on the Café for posts dealing with performance personna and/or patter. First and foremost, pick a performance style that suits you and your age. One of the saddest things I ever saw was a young man about your age who said "On my most recent trip to India I discovered...". It was obvious that he was reciting patter from a trick distributed in the 1940's or 50's.

Best of luck. Welcome to a great hobby/carrer and also to the Magic Café.

The key to patter is to be yourself, or at least an extreme variation there of. This past month, David Kaye (Silly Billy) was the site's Guest of Honor, which means that he posted and answered all of our questions for a week. One thing that he said was that his stage persona, Silly Billy (YouTube him, you'll see what I mean) is just an exaggeration of himself. That is the key to developing a stage persona, and...on a simpler form, a routine patter.

How do you want to look in the eyes of spectators? Dark and scary? Slap happy and comedic? There are so many options. Myself, I am the guy that has no clue what he's doing, only to have a miracle happen in my hands. It adds a comedic flavor.

Trust me, I know where you're coming from. Im 17 years old and have only been in magic for 2.5 years. I have never really had a "mentor" per say, but I have met a few magicians who have given me great tips and advice which I have taken to heart.

Like I said before, for an Ambitious Card routine, just be yourself. If your clumsy, act like you have no clue how the jack came back up to the top. If you're a good story teller, tell the story of an underdog that continually rises above the competition no matter what the challenge. Just have fun.

Hope my young advice helps you...good luck

Tmagicz -

The first post in the new to magic section is books for beginners. Please read through that and make a selection of books to work with. All of them will give you tricks and suggested patter that you can modify to fit your style. Also, join The International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) and find out where they meet (I'm pretty sure they have a club for under 18). That is we're you will find the best chance of getting a mentor.

It is a long journey to become a proficient magician, but a hobby that will last a lifetime. If you learn a trick well, you will still be doing it when you are 75!

Good luck

Hudson

First, welcome !

Next, a few opinions to add to the wonderful advice of the people posting before me.

As you probably already realized, your concerns are not unique. Most of us have had the same worries.

Magic is a hobby for me. My profession was teaching. When I first started teaching I tried to copy the methods of teachers I most admired. Some of it worked and some didn't. It did not take too long before I realized I had to be me. I could use aspects "borrowed" from others as a starting point, but I needed to decide who I wanted to be, not who I wanted to copy. It is not easy and it will not happen quickly. The good news is you can keep modifying until you get to be the person you are most comfortable being. Satellite23 is right on target in my opinion.

For many of us the reason to do magic is twofold: to have both the spectator and the magician enjoy the experience together. If you feel uncomfortable for some reason, "stop the show". There is always another time and another place.

Another opinion: start with a few fairly short effects that work well. It will set the tone and make everyone more comfortable.

You are already headed in the right direction just by the thought you are giving to your situation.

A month and you have perfected all them moves? Man, I need your talent!

Thanks Waz and thanks for all the support! I checked out the Youth IBM thing and it turns out they meet once a year in lancashire in september, I could probably do this, but its far from sep and its a 5 hour drive And well, like you know the trick where you double lift X and say its top when really its Y and then you give them Y and say you give them X then double lift Z and say its Y and then you say well I just have to snap my card against the deck and boom its changed. I do some patter atm where I go so " do you like slapping " and they go " Yeahhh " and I go "ok so, X is top card, ill give you X ( when really I give em Y ) and you have to slap the card inbetween your hands, really hard so it doesn't go anywhere " and they are like " ok.. " and so on but that seems to work as quite good patter for the trick, as they are so focused on the slapping they don't consider I gave them a different card. but thank you so much for the support, I'm so glad I joined this forums and SmithMagicMan what your skype man? Some skype help would be awesome And well I try to go for a clumsyish style in general, but I don't think its a good idea cause a large part of magic is making them believe what your saying/doing and so I think maybe I should change your style, I give them too much time to think/question my tricks which results in failed tricks sometimes ^^