Coin Magic :: Where To Start?

[Krash]

I've been doing magic for a little more than a year, and I've become quite confortable with a deck of cards in hand. I've dabbled in coin magic here and there with a few effects such as Silver Dream and 3fry, but I'm still not too confident in my coin work skills.

I bought the J. B. Bobo book on modern coin magic a few months ago, but I admit that I'm just a bit intimidated still when it comes to learning magic from a book.

How should one go about reading though Bobo's book? Should I run through it and mark some of the things that I'm interested in asthetically, or should I go at it one sleight at a time?

Thanks!

Shane K.

 

[mistasocka]

Coin Magic

I am in the same position as you cards i have done since I started but coins are now starting to really interest me I have "the bible" but it is kinda scary cause i dono where to start.

 

[ThisOneGoesTo11]

I am in the same position as you cards i have done since I started but coins are now starting to really interest me I have "the bible" but it is kinda scary cause i dono where to start.

Dan Watkins wrote an excellent article titled, "So you have Bobo's, now what?" This article should answers your questions on where to start. To access this article you need visit this web page and answer the security question:

http://www.coinvanish.com/foundations.html

...also on Dan's web site you can find reviews for quite a few coin DVDs:

http://coinvanish.com/reviews.html

Hope this helps,

-ThisOneGoesTo11

 

[b.boulton]

Either get the dvds...or read THIS

It is a week by week guide through the book...at the top you can click on the weeks.

 

[Krash]

Amazing!

Thank you for your help.

Shane K.

 

[ozzymagic]

If you are looking into coin magic the best dvd to start you off in my oppinion is the Intro to coin magic by Michael Ammar. Teaches you some very good vanishes, differnt palms and some short easy routine, basically gives you the basics and you are learning from Michael Ammar one of the best teachers around.

 

[Cyril]

Well the staples of coin magic are as follows:

Classic Palm
Finger Palm= Ramsey subtlety
Thumb Clip
Downs Palm (Optional)

While practicing your palms, you should practice transfers. For example, there will be many times when you'll need to switch a coin in classic palm to finger palm or vise versa.

Retention vanish
French drop
Thumb clip vanish
Classic Palm vanish
Finger Palm Vanish
Bobo's coin switch
Shuttle pass

Also, you'll need productions too. A lot of people seem to forget to learn productions. They are just as important as vanishes.

But the best order in my opinion is to first get a good grasp of your concealments and palms. They are the starting blocks and the foundation of everything in coin magic. If you don't have a good grasp of the classic palm for example, you'll have a hard time following more advance DVD's or even Intro DVD's.

So before you buy any DVD's, learn your palms.

Don't worry. Coin magic isn't as hard as everyone says it is. As long as your enjoy what you're doing, it won't seem hard at all. But remember, give yourself time. Coins are muscle memory type moves. The more you do it. The better you'll become.

That's my advice. Good luck.

 

[Scottie]

Try using DVD's For Coin Magic

If you want to do coin magic, you can't do much better than David Roth's series on beginning and intermediate coin magic. Every move is demonstrated clearly and from the audience and your own vantage point. He also has some good routines to help you get started. Michael Ammar has some good DVD's as well.

As others have said, work on palming a coin all the time until it is second nature. I used to type with a coin in each hand classic palmed at work. Just having the coins there all the time and working them constantly formed a good foundation. It kept the coins pretty shiny too!

Most of my magic library is in VHS tape. DVD's are much better for finding and looping the critical moves quickly. I find I learn things much better having seen them done rather than trying to pick them up out of a book. Bobo's book is a treasure trove, but it reminds you how much more difficult magic was before we had the technology we have today. Best of luck to you.

 

[Nikajo]

All excellent ideas. Every person learns from a different medium. I have a magician friend who cannot learn from a book. So he took the DVD route. I agree with the suggestion of David Roth. He has a 3 volume DVD set called "Expert Coin Magic...Made Easy". I can't say I agree with the "Made Easy" part as the moves with take some committment by you to master. But that's the beauty of magic. Practice is FUN. The 1st DVD is devoted to the beginner. It truly is a wealth of knowledge to get a solid foundation. I've had the set when it was only available in VHS, and still refer back to it on occasion. Bobo's Coin Magic is a fantastic resource that much is certain, but it can be a dry read.


Chuck Norris can do a wand spin with a telephone pole.

 

[Nullmuse]

Where To Start

I am still VERY MUCH a beginner myself, and practically everything here is an excellent suggestion.

The single most important move is the Classic Palm, so work on that constantly until you can palm.

My local magic shop recommended Bobo's "Modern Coin Magic", Ammar's "Introduction To Coins", and David Roth's *excellent* 3 DVD "Beginner's To Expert Coin Magic" Set.

Tarbell Volume I has a pretty through list of basic technique and several chapters on coin work as well, some of which don't appear elsewhere.

I'm now reading David Roth's book "Expert Coin Magic", and learning a great deal from THAT, too.

What I've found is that I keep returning over and over to the different sources, picking up subtleties I originally missed out on. I first read Bobo cover to cover, passing right over sleeving, and didn't understand much but started practicing the "basics" in the first three sections.

Roth and Ammar DVD's finally showed me that I WAS learning something, and how I could apply those to useful effects, so now I can do some very basic vanishes and such. Coin thru table, copper and silver switch, Miliken's Transposition, Metamorphosis, and a few "Winged Silver"/Coins Across-type pieces that are finally starting to come together.

I'm still working those basics in the mirror, reading Roth's book which ALSO contains much I've not seen elsewhere, and trying to learn tricks and routines. Each source is VERY valuable in their own way, and each time I return to them, I have a better understanding of the material. I suspect I'll be going through just those three books and DVD's for a long time to really develop competence and facility with the material.

When I could afford it, I picked up a nice Johnson's Half-dollar shell, because many tricks require one of them as well, tho' most effects can be accomplished multiple ways with or without the shell.

Incidentally, I found T. Nelson Downs "Modern Coin Magic" to be practically useless to me.

My best recommendation is start with Bobo's book and one of the DVD's to help make sense of what you're reading.

Best of luck, and I ,too, would MUCH appreciate hearing ANY advice from others regarding what they can recommend working on or using for source material to build technique.

 

[Cedric Taylor]

yes only get the stuff you are interested in, if not, you will not perform it good...or juast gut the DVD version with the same title taught by Ben Salinas, he demonstrates every move....most of the Bobo's vanishes are well known and easily figured out these days because of its exposure, what you would want to do is either take only bits and peices from those vanishes and create ur own, or create a whole vanish all together...i have created a new vanish in which i'm gonna post up here....shortly...be on the lookout for STIMULUS....

 

[Morgan B]

All excellent ideas. Every person learns from a different medium. I have a magician friend who cannot learn from a book. So he took the DVD route. I agree with the suggestion of David Roth. He has a 3 volume DVD set called "Expert Coin Magic...Made Easy". I can't say I agree with the "Made Easy" part as the moves with take some committment by you to master. But that's the beauty of magic. Practice is FUN. The 1st DVD is devoted to the beginner. It truly is a wealth of knowledge to get a solid foundation. I've had the set when it was only available in VHS, and still refer back to it on occasion. Bobo's Coin Magic is a fantastic resource that much is certain, but it can be a dry read.


Chuck Norris can do a wand spin with a telephone pole.

Solid advice - good to see you back in the forum.

 

[True2Coins]

Start where I tell everybody else to start. At the end. Bobo's. That is all every coin magician will need. Very little ideas have not come from that book in some way shape or form. Bobo's was a little bit intimidating at first but I was unfortunate and hadn't gotten Bobo's right when I first started magic so it was difficult to actually get into his head. If you don't mind reading some pretty advanced texts, please take a look at Curtis Kam's column called "A hundreth pleasenth concepts". It will help you beyond belief!