I have been working on different magic maneuvers such as the pass, a few flourishes, and some color changes. I have been doing this for a little over a month now and I dont know how to practice. I am learning this all by the seat of my pants. This may sound stupid to some of you, but I have been playing guitar for 12 years and only a year ago did i learn how practice effectively. I dont want to make that same mistake again. Any tips would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
How To Practice
- Thread starter Jo_Vision
- Start date
Study. Study. Study. Study the right technique for one maneuver first. Study and practice that one technique. That move should be the focue of your practice sessions. Sure you can play with other moves when you have the cards in your hands. But when you really sit down to practice, work on just that one move to proficiency. Then you can move on to the next move.
Except the pass. The pass will take years to learn. This should be a move in which you consciously learn the right technique for, and then you work into your muscle memory over time. Once you do that, then you just do the pass, then you do the pass, and then you do the pass.
So, in short, study the technique, practice the technique to the point of muscle memory or proficiency, and then move on to the next technique, still practicing the other techniques you learned, just not as the focus.
Except the pass. The pass will take years to learn. This should be a move in which you consciously learn the right technique for, and then you work into your muscle memory over time. Once you do that, then you just do the pass, then you do the pass, and then you do the pass.
So, in short, study the technique, practice the technique to the point of muscle memory or proficiency, and then move on to the next technique, still practicing the other techniques you learned, just not as the focus.
I agree with andy but another idea is to do what he did and come up with a routine that lets you practice all the moves that you are working on you dont neccicarrly have to show it to ppl its just fun to practice
hope i helped
thats a wonderful way to practice espically crowd control ect but dont learn the method and then go out and preform wo practice if you know but once you can get it smooth go out and preform
Thats pretty much the only way.
Use your family and friends as critics.
No matter how smooth you get it down if front of a mirror,with a crowd,alot of times its all for naught because the angles you paid attention to were not the important ones.
if you do alot of magic for your family they will be good critics bc they have seen so much of it they will be able to tell you when you flash or if you have a magician friend then it would be a good idea to show him not only can he tell you where you screwed up he can offer advice and make the trick better *cough*cough* andy *cough*cough*
I know i am going to get abuse for this ^^, but a mirror, i know people say it doesnt help but it really does, then if its a flourish, try with your eyes closed, and always perform for people, trying to make it look as natural as possible.
if your working on a flourish i good friend told me once you get the moves do the flourish wo looking at your hands
Why would you get abused? Its sound advice.
Universal advice given to every magician.
Regarding the pass, the most common mistake is that people usually practice the classic pass like crazy but with BAD MECHANICS and that is equally to not practice at all.
It took me a long time to have a semi quasi decent pass, I actually uploaded a video showing some tips and my handling and grip when performing the classic pass, it isnt perfect, but maybe there will be a couple of things that may help you
.Check my signature.
I second the idea of making a routine out of all the moves you know; one of the easiest exercises I do regularly for controls, passes, false cuts and other misc sleights, is the ACR. Now this is not an ACR that you would do for a crowd but for your own benefit.
If you go this route I highly suggest you videotape yourself and just perform. Do not think about the moves. What I was accomplishing was muscle memory. Once you are done with your practice session take a break, loosen your fingers, review the tape and note what you can improve on. I have found that it helps me to practice this before I go to sleep, I do not know why but I think it has something to do with your brain making new connections while you sleep.
Another exercise I do is to keep my eyes on the lens of the camera as I perform the sleights. This helped me build confidence in my hands and my abilities to perform sleights without looking at my hands. An alternative that I did while getting ready for a play was to cite my memorized lines for the part of Hamlet while doing sleights.
This is what helped for me, you may be completely different.
If you go this route I highly suggest you videotape yourself and just perform. Do not think about the moves. What I was accomplishing was muscle memory. Once you are done with your practice session take a break, loosen your fingers, review the tape and note what you can improve on. I have found that it helps me to practice this before I go to sleep, I do not know why but I think it has something to do with your brain making new connections while you sleep.
Another exercise I do is to keep my eyes on the lens of the camera as I perform the sleights. This helped me build confidence in my hands and my abilities to perform sleights without looking at my hands. An alternative that I did while getting ready for a play was to cite my memorized lines for the part of Hamlet while doing sleights.
This is what helped for me, you may be completely different.
All very much appreciated advice. Someone mentioned that practicing the pass with the wrong mechanics could be bad. Would anyone care to evaluate my mechanics of the pass? If so, then I can post a video tomorrow for someone to look at. Just wanna make sure that i am doing it right and any tips would be appreciated. Thanks alot for the advice on practicing. I like the idea of reciting the lines too. I will have to develop some patter that i can recite while practicing.
Last edited by a moderator: