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Does anyone here have (or had, when they first started) any problems practicing new tricks in front of people, to make sure the sleights are good enough - or even performing them in front of people for the first time? I'm always concerned that they'll find out how the trick is done, and spoil the whole thing for them in future.

Is it worth finding a friend I can trust who's not so worried about tricks being spoilt for them (and who doesn't mind being a guinea pig), or am I just worried over nothing, and it's no big deal if they find out, because when it eventually works they'll forget what I messed up?

DON'T practice tricks in front of people. Practice them at home until you've got the moves down. I know what you're saying, but the time you go out to perform should not be a "let's see if I can get away with this" moment but a genuine performance, "let's amaze them" one.

The only real answer is practice. Confidence comes from knowing that you have spent much time working on your material and you can perform the sleights flawlessly. You'll still be nervous when you come to perform the effects but you know that you can perform the sleights smoothly and undetectably which we help to calm you.

If it helps, perform them for your friends first of all - just don't have the attitude of "practice", have one of "performance".

record youself, on your mobile even. watch it back and use this to learn from in terms of angles, perfecting moves etc

you can place your video camera at different angles to see where your 'scope' can be stretched to... the video camera represents the audience so you know how to manage you angles this way

Cardza wrote:DON'T practice tricks in front of people. Practice them at home until you've got the moves down. I know what you're saying, but the time you go out to perform should not be a "let's see if I can get away with this" moment but a genuine performance, "let's amaze them" one.

If it helps, perform them for your friends first of all - just don't have the attitude of "practice", have one of "performance".

Yeah, I'm not intending to perform a trick in front of strangers until I'm 100% certain I can perform it flawlessly. I'm just thinking about using friends to see if they can see how it's done (I've seen a couple of posts mentioning trying out tricks in front of partners, etc).

I guess trying to get hold of a cheap camera could be the answer

You can start in front of a mirror if you don't have any camera yet. And practice practice practice-...

And oh, don't shut your eyes when doing a pass

Whenever I have a new trick (after practicing it by myself of course) I show it to two friends who I trust to give me honest feedback about the patter, any possible angle issues and anything else. I then take that feedback and go back to practice it more by myself. Only then do I feel like I can take an effect out to the real world.

Ascanio talks about this in his book The Magic of Ascanio Volume 1: The Structural Conception of Magic.

when I was practicing the pass, I had this awful habit of sniffing.. I couldnt help it

I actually perform new tricks for my family and they honestly tell me if I've done something wrong. I still practice alone before I show them. I think practice, practice perfomance, and perfomance is the process which new tricks should undergo.

I.D wrote:when I was practicing the pass, I had this awful habit of sniffing.. I couldnt help it

I guess it is a strange habit we got as a child. All small children close their eyes with their hands when they want to hide thinking they're not seen.

I think I agree with the general consensus here - just practise until you think your sleights are good enough (that is, smooth and well disguised etc), then just perform it for some friends. If they can see what you're doing, they'll tell you early enough. Don't go up to them to show them a sleight, show them magic! That way they'll enjoy it more themselves, and if they can spot one of your sleights, well, just try something else and you'll still impress them, even if not everything works out perfectly.

if i remember correctly (old age n that) someone at Blackpool was deming a card mirror, it was a 3 sided mirror that sat on the table, for practising in... so you could see all angles... i'll ask the guys i went with if they remember it

The Magic Attic wrote:if i remember correctly (old age n that) someone at Blackpool was deming a card mirror, it was a 3 sided mirror that sat on the table, for practising in... so you could see all angles... i'll ask the guys i went with if they remember it

That souldn't be too difficult to make for oneself. I'd buy three mirrors with a wooden frame and join them with hinges. That should do the trick. Hmmm, not a bad idea... Think I'll try that.