Pass
- Thread starter JackL3
- Start date
Practice more, and make sure when you do the pass, that the spectators view is panoramic, not focused.
It's hard to go into specifics without seeing your pass but here are a few common issues:
1. Don't try and go fast until you've done a few thousand reps of your pass and it feels like a single smooth and natural movement, not two jerky movements.
2. Remember you're not trying to fool yourself. In other words, if you look down at your own hands and the pass looks invisible, it's probably flashing to anyone in front of you. So, you'll probably need to tilt your hands forward a bit more than your think so your audience can't see the work happening under the deck. Mirror practice helps to get this right.
3. Hold the deck slanting at about 45 degrees. You shouldn't be holding the deck perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical.
4. The close is part of the motion of the pass. Squaring the packets together is as important as making them transpose. So after you've got the top packet to the bottom, the movement doesn't finish until the packets are completely coalesced. Don't pause with the deck unsquared.
5. Make sure you practise doing the pass in context. Hold a break in one hand, bring the hands together, execute the pass and then separate your hands. Make that whole process smooth with no fumbling as the hands come together or separate.
1. Don't try and go fast until you've done a few thousand reps of your pass and it feels like a single smooth and natural movement, not two jerky movements.
2. Remember you're not trying to fool yourself. In other words, if you look down at your own hands and the pass looks invisible, it's probably flashing to anyone in front of you. So, you'll probably need to tilt your hands forward a bit more than your think so your audience can't see the work happening under the deck. Mirror practice helps to get this right.
3. Hold the deck slanting at about 45 degrees. You shouldn't be holding the deck perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical.
4. The close is part of the motion of the pass. Squaring the packets together is as important as making them transpose. So after you've got the top packet to the bottom, the movement doesn't finish until the packets are completely coalesced. Don't pause with the deck unsquared.
5. Make sure you practise doing the pass in context. Hold a break in one hand, bring the hands together, execute the pass and then separate your hands. Make that whole process smooth with no fumbling as the hands come together or separate.
Misdirection is your friend!
Don't freak out if your pass isn't completely invisible; almost no one's is. Just make it unobtrusive (so it doesn't call attention to itself), and then practice doing it on an offbeat in your performance so that no one is watching for it.
Magic isn't all about your technique at pulling something off; it's about your ability to perform. Keep practicing your pass (always!), but in the meantime, work on your ability to perform around it in a way that allows you to do it at the right time and in the right way.
Don't freak out if your pass isn't completely invisible; almost no one's is. Just make it unobtrusive (so it doesn't call attention to itself), and then practice doing it on an offbeat in your performance so that no one is watching for it.
Magic isn't all about your technique at pulling something off; it's about your ability to perform. Keep practicing your pass (always!), but in the meantime, work on your ability to perform around it in a way that allows you to do it at the right time and in the right way.
You shouldn't be holding the deck perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical. The close is part of the motion of the pass. Squaring the packets together is as important as making them transpose. So after you've got the top packet to the bottom, the movement doesn't finish until the packets are completely coalesced. Don't pause with the deck unsquared.
There are hundreds of variations of the pass. What version are you doing, first off.
Second, as said earlier. No pass is undetectable. But there are passes that are less obvious than others.
My recommendation is more practice.
Second, as said earlier. No pass is undetectable. But there are passes that are less obvious than others.
My recommendation is more practice.
No pass is completely undetectable, but I gotta agree with the above; if you're having trouble hiding your pass use the hoffman...it seems much easier to hide. But above all, practice is key.
Hoffman? Do you mean Herrmann or Hofzinser...or is there a Hoffman pass that I don't know about?
EDIT: Just did some Googling and found a couple of references to the Hoffman pass. It seems that Brad Christian misnamed the Herrmann pass on his Ninja 1 DVD.
EDIT 2: After more research, it turns out that what Brad Christian calls the "Hoffman Pass" is more specifically the spread pass.
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I've been practicing the Pass for a long time. What I've found that helped me the most, is clearing your top hand while the "revolution" takes place so that the portion being "passed" doesn't come into contact with the palm of your top hand. The portion being "passed" may already be making contact with the lower portion of the deck (assuming your hands aren't humongous) and therefore experiences friction You want to limit the amount of friction that takes place so the revolution can be done smoother and therefore quicker. By lifting your top hand high enough, you'll clear it so that the "passed" packet won't rub against it and slow your Pass down.
However, if your hands are huge, you may be able to do it without contacting your top hand or lower packet.
I've seen metal plates being sold specifically designed for practicing the pass, but nothing can substitute some "good ol' practicin'."
However, if your hands are huge, you may be able to do it without contacting your top hand or lower packet.
I've seen metal plates being sold specifically designed for practicing the pass, but nothing can substitute some "good ol' practicin'."