What to start with? [COMPLETE Beginner]

[ArcticChibi]

Hey!

I'm looking for a starting point for magic. I have never learned magic and I am starting to get into it. I went to a local library and got these books:

• Scarne on Card Tricks by John Scarne
• Ellis Stanyon's Best Card Tricks edited by Karl Fulves
• Magic with Cards by Garcia and Schindler

I don't think these are exactly "beginner" magic books, but I just grabbed a few off the shelves to see what they were about. I have a small budget in case I have to buy some magic books. Any suggestions?

I live in San Francisco, so maybe there are magic shops I can start off at?

Thanks

 

[willabbotsm]

Mark Wilson's course is sold at every bookstore, and probably in every library.

It's all you'll need for a while.

Also, San Francisco probably has a lot of magic shops. I would go to one, and ask someone working there for advice.

 

[Ola]

Royal Road to Card Magic really helped me

 

[TheatreHead]

I second the Mark Wilson book.

If you're planning on doing cards, find the Card College series, and get volume 1. You'll be able to tell if cards are for you or not.

 

[nayost]

I agree with all the above comments. San Francisco you say... you're in luck! There is a great magic shop on 9th avenue in the Sunset district!

I've lived in SF for 7 years... but was not into magic at the time. However, when I visited SF 6 months ago I checked out the shop, and it was great! The owner's name escapes me, but he was a very helpful gentleman. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to give you some advices.

Anyway, the name of the shop is Misdirections Magic Shop. Here's their website - http://www.misdirections.com/

Have fun!

 

[Zephil]

Misdirections is a great shop. I was in there around 2 years back when I was visiting. The guys there should be able to get you started real well .

 

[ArcticChibi]

Awesome

I was checking out the Misdirections website and it seems I can get there pretty fast just by taking two different buses.

Another thing I'm wondering is if there are any beginner magic courses.

Thanks for the info guys

 

[Steerpike]

There are two versions of Mark Wilson's to go with. The Complete Course is $20 and is about the size of a standard school book. The Cyclopedia of Magic is the same material, but in a much smaller, more compact book available for $10. I'm not as big a fan of the latter though as the spine and binding tends to wear out faster.

If you think you might want to specialize in cards, you can get most of your fundamentals from The Royal Road to Card Magic. As comprehensive as the Card College series, even the individual volumes are a bit steep for beginners. Gotta learn to walk before you can run, and other assorted cliches. Royal Road is also only 11 bucks.

All three can be found in most libraries if you do some digging.

Remember that Scarne book for later because not only was he a great card worker, he was probably one of the best god damn liars of his time and ours.

If you really must go for DVDs, learn some fundamentals from the books first and get a couple performances for friends and family under your belt. From there, there's the Easy to Master series that Michael Ammar teaches. Gives you a good value for your money. And Ellusionist's Crash Course 1 and 2 are good for supplementing your education in cards. Crash 2 in particular is pretty dense with information.

All that should keep you busy for a while.

 

[ArcticChibi]

What about Aaron Fisher's Card Fundamentals?

 

[Steerpike]

I don't own it, so I can't say.

 

[reality//barred]

aaron fishers card fundamental series is amazing. but im not gonna lie. jay sankeys amazing magic and mentalism anyone can do vol 1 & 2 are fantastic for begginers. i STILL use alot of the material from these 2 dvds. he also goes into audience management and other things. check them out they arent very expensive. but they are well worth the money.

 

[t0aster]

Three things will help you more than any of these books.

1. A friend who is also learning magic.

2. A more experienced person willing to teach you.

3. Someone who is not interested in learning magic, but is willing to look at your performance and give an honest feedback.

Find these three first. Pretty much any "classic" book will work afterwards.

As for a title... "Art of Astonishment" series by Paul Harris has helped me more than Mark Wilson's book, Royal Road, and Expert Card Techniques put together.

 

[Steerpike]

As for a title... "Art of Astonishment" series by Paul Harris has helped me more than Mark Wilson's book, Royal Road, and Expert Card Techniques put together.

You're actually saying a complete beginner should invest the huge amount of money it takes to buy Art of Astonishment? Don't take this as me knocking Paul's material, but you're so full of ****. That's not trying to run before you can walk, that's trying to run a ****ing triathlon before you can walk.

A shame, you were giving reasonable advice up until that point. But if you didn't learn enough to make a career out those three essentials, then it's your fault for being a bad student.