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Magic Oli New user Australia 84 Posts |
Hey Guys,
I'm Oliver and I'm 17 living in Australia. I'm not new to magic, I've been doing it on and off since my first magic set at age 3. However, as I come to the end of school I will have a lot more time to develop my magic. I really want to make my magic better and evolve from just doing card tricks (and aparently I've learnt all of my sleights incorrectly) and a few other things so I've got myself a copy of both the Royal Road to Card Magic and Bobo's Modern Coin Magic along with their respective dvd's to study. I also have the complete Pathways to Mastery course of card magic from Aaron Fisher which is has been my main resource for correcting mislearnt sleights. What I'd like to know is how did you guys learn your sleights? Which took you the longest/were the hardest? Which do you believe are the most important and least important? How do you reccomend practicing? Strangely, I struggle with the simple vanishes and just the simple handling of coins but I can do the muscle pass with ease :/ Thanks for the help I really appreciate it Oliver |
Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
G'day Oliver! "Youse speak good English for a foreigner" (!)
I have a young friend (your age, who does the muscle pass, beautifully! I "usta" do Five Coin Stars--both hands--coin rolls--4 coins simultaneously--and the Downs' p**m with both hands when I was a teenager. Now, I'm 82 and with arthritis, etc., I don't even think of those anymore. Royal Road was written by the late Jean Hugard, an Aussie, and is still a highly regarded work. A young friend started with RRCM and got along just fine. (He made a living with magic, until his untimely death, a few years ago. J.B. Bobo was a friend for almost 50 years. We both "worked" school assembly programs, from coast to coast and border to border in the U.S. Feel free to PM me, when you have a free moment. Perhaps we can discuss some of your questions. O
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
G'day Oliver! "Youse speak good English for a foreigner" (!)
I have a young friend (your age, who does the muscle pass, beautifully! I "usta" do Five Coin Stars--both hands--coin rolls--4 coins simultaneously--and the Downs' p**m with both hands when I was a teenager. Now, I'm 82 and with arthritis, etc., I don't even think of those anymore. Royal Road was written by the late Jean Hugard, an Aussie, and is still a highly regarded work. A young friend started with RRCM and got along just fine. (He made a living with magic, until his untimely death, a few years ago. J.B. Bobo was a friend for almost 50 years. We both "worked" school assembly programs, from coast to coast and border to border in the U.S. Feel free to PM me, when you have a free moment. Perhaps we can discuss some of your questions. O
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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george1953 Inner circle Mallorca (Spain) 5943 Posts |
I learnt from Royal Road and Bobo, in those days all we had were books. Never could do a coin roll no matter how hard I tried. The one thing that helped me more than anything was meeting another magician who showed me the ropes.
If you have a magic club or a magician near where you live I would seek them out. These days with Skype etc. its much easier to find folks, it really is great when you find someone who shows you how to do things correctly. Good luck with your magic.
By failing to prepare, we are preparing to fail.
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MichaelJae Loyal user 281 Posts |
You are on the right path with the RRCM and Bobo's. As far as which sleights are important the answer is simple, ALL of them. They all can be used to perform amazing effects. However as far as cards go, I would recomend the three that I use consistently they are the top change, double turnover, and top palm. With those three alone and your creative imagination, you can create miracles. Now coins. Same thing, all very important sleights to learn because you never know what situation you'll be in when performing. i.e. standing, seated, surrounded, table, etc.. As far as which are most important, I would recommend classic palm, retention vanish, toss vanish and french drop to get you started. The best way to practice is with your best friend infront of you, the MIRROR. Hope this helps.
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Magic Oli New user Australia 84 Posts |
Thanks for the advice guys, any advice of subtleties to learn? more dvd's or good effects? I'm really interested in the TKO have been since the first one was released but never bought one, what do you guys think?
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Greeting(s) from North America! (where autumn has arrived!!!)
It is apparent that you are not lacking in enthusiasm! --Enthusiasm is somewhat like dynamite. Dynamite, ignited in an open field, will raise a lot of dust, but that's about all it will accomplish! If the explosive expert drilla a hole and inserts the dynamite, and then plugs up the hole, the explosion, when it's ignited, can move a lot or earth, rock, etc. So, let's start "using" your enthusiam. Youth are always a bit impatient! (Believe it or not, at my age, -82- I can actually remember my youth, and I know that I was definitely impatient!) [Oh Lord, help me to be patient. --AND PLEASE HURRY!] Let's use that enthusiasm wisely, and curb that impatience, just a bit. Festina lente, is Latin for, "make hsste, slowly"! So! Read RRCM. Hugard was an excellent mentor. The material is "not the latest", but it is "good stuff". (As I mentioned above, Jeff Helding wanted to learn "cards". He was 17, in the early '70s. I recommended RRCM. He read it. He picked out several tricks that appealed to him, learned them well, and used them for the rest of his life to make a living. Benerally speaking, "buy" tools, as you need them~! Learn moves or sleights as you need them. J.B. starts you out with a few ultra basic sleights, then vanishes, and 28 Tricks. I don't remember how Hugard begins. Anyway don't CONCENTRATE on moves alone. Psychologically, the learner needs to see some reason for learning a skill. You have lots of years ahead! Think back to when you were an infant! (Hey...that would be a great trick!) Remember? First: crawl, then, walk, then, run...... You are wise if you learn to use your hand skills. Never mind the boxes, tubes, etc!!! Now, for the first "lesson"! "Magic" only exists in the mind(s) of the spectator(s). You cannot buy or own, "magic"! You cannot buy a "trick' either. A trick, like music, only exists while it is being performed. You can buy a prop or a secret. Using the prop or secret, you can perform a trick. If you have developed a good presentation, and have performed the trick well, the spectator will see--or think he sees--the "effect". and the "magic" MAY "happen" in the spectator's mind. Here's the important point: "MAGIC' IS NOT, REPEAT, NOT, INHERENTLY ENTERTAINING! YOU, the performer's "task' is to make it entertaining with your "presentation"!!! THE PERFORMER (and HIS PRESENTATION) IS ALWAYS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE PROP! Second lesson: When you want to add a new trick to your repertoire, three things are necessary. 1. Learn how the trick is DONE. 2. Learn how to DO it. 3. Figure out how to DO it so that it ENTERTAINS an audience. (That's the hardest part! --THE PRESENTATION!!!) Remember: FESTINA LENTE!!! Don't BUY any more props (except, possibly a deck of cards). Don't even buy any more books! Read, study, practice! You have two fine books. Use them. There are thousands of books full of tricks. RRCM and BOBO have more than enough for now. When you have questions, I suggest that you PM, me. Best wishes, Dick Oslund Sneaky, underhanded, devious and surreptitious itinerant mountebanc--and soon to become a certified quack salver. PS:::What the hekk is a TKO??? I can't recommend something, unless I know what it is !!!!!
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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RogerTheShrubber Veteran user 301 Posts |
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Hey Roger!
Somewhatlike the Raven... The last time I played the Magic Castle, I drove the young guys nuts with "my" coin vanish! What killed them was that I did it wearing a tee shirt. --and, no coat. It IS a beautiful effect! Thanks for duking me in! O
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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RedHatMagic Loyal user UK 239 Posts |
Dick is a magician with a big reputation- take him up on his offer.
Let the Entertainment Commence!
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Quote:
On Sep 26, 2014, RedHatMagic wrote: Maybe I should "hire" Red Hat as my press agent! --Thanks, Red, for your kind words. (Now I must go down town and buy a bigger hat!) I KNOW that I have a "reputation" for using CAPITAL letters (!) That's because I don't know how to ITALICIZE with this "infernal electrisch peckenclacker". This "offends" a few of those who read what I write. I do not apologize for my writing style! ("It's how I talk!) Those who are "offended" are perfectly free to find another "table" in this rather vast "restaurant". I am writing a book about my adventures on the road. Those offended are not required to buy the book either! I grew up in the '40s in a small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Nobody in my family had any sort of experience in $how bu$ine$$. Television had not been invented. VHS tapes and DVDs had not been invented. Computers had not been invented. BOOKS, HAD been "invented' (thank you Herr Gutenberg!). I was fortunate to meet and learn from REAL magicians, who were kind enough to mentor me. I started performing for $$$$$$ when I was 13, and have never stopped. I started locally, but, eventually travelled coast to coast and border to border. making a good living doing what I loved. I remember well, those mentors, and have endeavored to serve as a mentor to many young fellows. A number of them are now full time professionals, doing what they love. Some are "forty milers", others have travelled globally. Enough! "them" is my credentials. Hey, I only used capital letters six times! The sneaky, underhanded, devious, and surreptitious itinerant mountebanc--and soon to be certified as an authentic quacksalver!
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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MRSharpe Special user Never a dull moment with 940 Posts |
My advice is to not bite off more than you can chew. I'm not sure what you mean by "learning sleights incorrectly" because every magician must adapt moves to work for his or her personality, hands, etc. Maybe you haven't learned them completely or have tried to work on to many moves to quickly? My best advice is to learn the basic mechanics of a move and then start practicing it in context with an actual routine. A sleight learned in a vacuum is useless. When you start working this time, learn a move and incorporate it into a routine and then go to a new move instead of simply trying to learn all the moves in a particular book.
Custom Props Designer and Fabricator as well as Performer from Indiana, USA
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