Practicing in the front of mirror is wrong

[Memes Magician]

Hi everyone.
I have been watching dani daortiz lectures and in every lecture he says that Do not practice in the front of a mirror . A mirror may say whether your top change is good but never says when to do a top change or when to do a double lift. You are doing magic for spectators not for mirror.
While every other magic teachers always say to practice in front of a mirror. What's your opinion.


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[JoshL8]

I found that when I was looking at the mirror I was watching my hands in the mirror when it was the wrong time to focus on my hands for the audience. I mean it is a great tool to practice with when learning angles but its limited when practicing for fuller performances. I think film is superior because I can re-watch it and then see things I need to tweak like adjusting hand positions etc. leaving me to focus on other aspects of my performance.

 

[MADuke]

I found that when I was looking at the mirror I was watching my hands in the mirror when it was the wrong time to focus on my hands for the audience. I mean it is a great tool to practice with when learning angles but its limited when practicing for fuller performances. I think film is superior because I can re-watch it and then see things I need to tweak like adjusting hand positions etc. leaving me to focus on other aspects of my performance.

Agreed...100%. I got a GoPro camera and use it to film myself. This allows me to focus on performing and not looking at the mirrors. After I practice I can look back and see what I need to work on and what is good to go.

 

[kthrzne]

Filming yourselfnis vastly superior for general performance practice and with modern tech its accessible to most people. That being said a three way mirror is great for working on handling and checking angles.

 

[Mitra#008]

If you always practice a move in front of the mirror, it gets awkward when you do it for real in performance. I would have mentioned the Daortiz quote if you had not done so already. It's more about getting the feel for a sleight rather than doing it flawlessly. I can do the pass as a color change without any motion at all, cause I'd spent several months, just doing the move over and over again, caring only for speed. This was in front of a mirror. But when I started performing, I realised that time was wasted. Yes, I have a good pass. But now, I find I barely think about the move when I do it. Most of the time, the spectator doesn't even see the deck, because my audience management has improved. I don't do it nearly as fast as I can.
Your best bet would be recording performances. Also try to practise sleights without a mirror at first. Remember, it's invisible as long as the audience doesn't see it. If you want to perform, remember that you're trying to entertain laymen, and not fool magicians. The only reason I'd practise in front of a mirror would be to see if my motions are natural.

 

[obrienmagic]

I made a video on the subject. Imo practice should be broken up into 3 parts:

1. Practice individual technique. This means in front of a mirror, camera, from diff angles, etc. So that you can get the individual moves down.

2. Practice the full routine. This includes scripting and practicing Until the entire effect is smooth from start to finish.

3. (This is the one most people don’t think about.) rehearse your magic for a live audience. You will only get better after performing for real people. If you get caught, flash, or notice timing is off etc. You will be able to make adjustments to your set. This is only possible with real people watching you and giving feedback. And they don’t even have to necessarily know they are giving feedback. Something as simple as them saying they saw a flash is enough to tell you to adjust.

Here is the vid if you are interested.