Your Inhibitions

[Sean_Raf]

Hey, not many of you know me, my name is Sean Rafael and I'm British

I've made this thread in the hope to get some useful information from all you crazy folks accumulated. I read these boards a lot and I see a huge amount of information that sometimes can be skipped over, which is a shame.

The idea is that you think about your magic and name one thing that inhibits you from being the best you can be. It can be something from Nervous Flatulence (No I don't get that ) all the way up to confidence in sleights, finding your personality or patter worries. Just find something that you know in your heart of hearts you could use some thoughts from others on. Hopefully we'll get a lot of hints and tips that will help us all become better magicians, because you'll probably find if you've got a problem, there's 2 more people with the same problem.

Let's be considerate to each other, be thoughtful and most of all let's get helpful! So without further ado, I'll start off:

I have problems with:

- Coming up with effective patter. If I try and patter, I lose track of what I'm doing with the effect and I get all confuddled! If I patter, then I often have to do it in short bursts with I think breaks the fluidity of the effect. Any advice?

Thanks!

- Sean

 

[Bizzaro]

I'll give you a phrase my friend once told me.

"it's only a barrier if you allow it to be"

He meant physcially, but it also applies mentally. That which stops you, only does so if you if you let it.

In your case, just perform more. Or perform silent. Sometimes more can be said by not saying anything.

 

[S3al]

I have problems with:

- Coming up with effective patter. If I try and patter, I lose track of what I'm doing with the effect and I get all confuddled! If I patter, then I often have to do it in short bursts with I think breaks the fluidity of the effect. Any advice?

Thanks!

- Sean

Practice your effects with the patter, a lot. Thats what I had to do. It may take up to 200+ times of practicing the same effect until you get to the point where you can do your patter, and do the slights, and pay attention to whats going on around you at the same time. For me, it just took A LOT of practice.

Now, with coming up with patter, I think the best thing to do is get inspired. I learned a lot about patter from watching Derren Brown on youtube. Thats all I can really say about that.

 

[AceOfGears]

i do the same thing, sean.

its kinda annoying sometimes haha.


but great topic man!



-G tuh the e tuh the a the r the ssssss.


^^..lol.that was fun.^^ !

 

[y2john]

Sean_Raf...

If you are finding it difficult either coming up with patter or utilising patter for/during effects... don't worry about it

Instead just be yourself and concentrate on things like spectator involvement and just friendly banter

Some routines/effects need a certain presentation to get across the effect... in these cases where you need patter then just keep it really simple and engage the specs with your personality

When it comes to coming up with patter, don't just go with what everyone else is doing or directly by the explanations... instead just think about how you would like the effect to come across and then how you feel YOU would perform it. The more the patter is true to yourself, the more it'll feel natural

 

[-Ty]

I think the idea is also to post your own weaknesses...

I have a problem with performing in my own character. I do it, but it's always a conscious thing, somethign I'm always thinking about. What I mean is I have trouble not putting on a different voice (showman type thing) and going from conversation to performance naturally.

With the patter problem - script your magic. It helps you so much, and contrary to what people think, it gives you a lot of freedom to work around it.

Also, like others have said, practice your presentation, your patter - more than the mechanics of the effect!

Ty

P.S. Remember that you don't have to always have a "patter" for your effects. Just a context.

 

[Steerpike]

- Coming up with effective patter. If I try and patter, I lose track of what I'm doing with the effect and I get all confuddled! If I patter, then I often have to do it in short bursts with I think breaks the fluidity of the effect. Any advice?

Coming up with scripting isn't as difficult as most people make it out to be. The key is to find a source of inspiration and stick with it. I get a lot of ideas from movies, folklore, pulp fiction, that sort of thing. And the inspiration can come at any time.

I recall once doing the Biddle trick at a Barnes & Noble for their Harry Potter release party. All of a sudden I had an inspiration based on the red backs of the deck and the effect of "shooting" a card from the pack into the deck. "Do you guys know the story of William Tell?" The deck was the apple, the packet the arrows, and snapping the cards was the snap of the bowstring.

The ideas come to you often through serendipity.

The key to avoiding losing yourself in the scripting is to turn parts of the script into mnemonic cues for sleights. When you say a specific phrase that makes people laugh, you use the cue of their momentary distraction to do a pass for example. Make it a mnemonic device. Joke = pass.

As for fluidity, practice speaking more slowly. Don't rush yourself and take the time to choreograph.


Now for my problems.

-I've been focusing very heavily on performance theory lately to the point where my technical skills are a little shoddy. I can get away with my sleights more often than not, but I'd like to be more technically proficient so that I can handle tougher spectators who resist attempts at misdirection. I'd also prefer to have a more well-stocked toolbox as it were for creating more original effects.

-I'm having difficulty getting the knack for certain aspects of mentalism that I believe I should be more familiar with as a well-rounded performer. My billet handlings are still kind of awkward, and there must be some aspect of my book tests that I'm not getting that's screwing me up because the reactions aren't too spectacular. I've been focusing on learning PK, which I'm starting to get a knack for, but I still have a lot of work to do.

 

[The Dark Angel]

I usually have trouble if something goes wrong, lets say the wrong card is revealed, then I'll just kinda "oh... welll uhhhh...."

 

[magic mysteries]

I usually have trouble if something goes wrong, lets say the wrong card is revealed, then I'll just kinda "oh... welll uhhhh...."

I would say : use it!
If the card is wrong, OK, just say "Oh, this is not your card?? Yes, I know that, but, that was just to know if you were attentive!"
And try to find the good card! Or start again!
Remember : people don't know what you're going to do! You're the BOSS!
So if things are not going into the right way, just change your presentation!

 

[Steerpike]

I usually have trouble if something goes wrong, lets say the wrong card is revealed, then I'll just kinda "oh... welll uhhhh...."

I prefer not to say anything during a revelation aside from the name of the card. That way, on the off-chance I'm wrong I can use one of The Amazing Jonathon's jokes and say, "I didn't say it was your card, I just said it was the 6 of diamonds."

 

[harapanong]

I talk too much.

My sleights aren't up to par.

- harapan. magic!

 

[StreetMage]

I'm amazed nobody's posted this yet, but a problem I'm constantly having to work around is hand size.

Now before anybody brings up Max Malini and how he couldn't palm cards, let me assure you that I already know that, and would thank you to choke on your comments with a spoonful of stating the obvious.

Hand size doesn't STOP me from doing anything, but it is a little trickly to work around for some things. It's actually been giving me trouble with the 4for4 lately, but I'm steadily starting to get the hang of it. Charlier cuts have always been a little tricky as well. Singles aren't so bad, but trying to coordinate double Charliers with small hands is a nightmare because it's essentially a double-handed balancing act. Palming cards is obviously a problem, but I get around that with the Gambler's cop.

 

[-Ty]

Palming is more to do with misdirection than good technique. The best technique in the world still has tells, and it comes down to your ability to attract the "heat" away from the hand.

Yes, charlier cuts with small hands is tough (doubles are impossible) but the balancing just takes time. I can get a good double charlier going, it just takes a certain rhythm and sense for each hand together.

But with palming, you should definitely go for it. Lots of fun to be had.

Ty

 

[UBERboomer]

and I'm British

Wheyyy!

- My patter isnt my own.

 

[The Dark Angel]

I have big hands, which kinda gives me an advantage I guess.
Last night I messed up on the card to mouth on ACR, but I told the lady that I was simply demonstrating misdirection, and how her card was actually on top of the deck.

 

[Sean_Raf]

Thanks for the advice you've given guys! It's already starting to help

A problem I'm constantly having to work around is hand size.

Well, you know... Max Malini... Just Kidding!!!

I also have small hands and I find it can be a huge (oh the irony) problem when it comes to palming cards. The only palm I'm comfortable with hiding the card(s) is the Tenkai Palm and well... the angles on that, aren't too "omg hw dat crd get in ur pokit lolz!!"

So here's my advice:

- Gesture and Motion: If you keep your hand in motion, not constant motion otherwise it looks fishy! But enough motion will make it hard for spectators to focus on your hand and if you've been gesturing a lot during your magic anyway, they'll pay no attention to it... Just like you shouldn't, which leads me into---

- Don't worry about it: If you don't pay attention to it they won't. I've wrote a longer post about this here

- Misdirection: Tommy Wonder wrote in his Books of Wonder about how Misdirection is often misconstrued as making the audience look the other way whilst you do your naughty business (Or something along those lines, I'm just being quick here). In actual fact, what we should do, for the most part is direct their attention to something else by focusing our attention to something else. For example:

One-Hand top palm the card
Do a charlier cut or hand the deck to someone else to shuffle
Alternatively you could put the deck down, pick up a pen with the other hand and lay it on top of the deck whilst you pocket the card or something.

See how we've put all emphasis on placing the pen on the deck that attention from your hand is completely MISDIRECTED by being DIRECTED. Does that make sense?

Hope some of this helps.

- Sean