talkmagic.co.uk

Doesn't look like he's going to be anywhere near me, oh well I'll just have to keep my eyes open in case he comes down here in the future.

Card College vol 1 is an excellent place to start. DVD wise, Oz Pearlman's Born To Perform is pretty good too and covers most of the basic sleights.

Age wise.. I (unfortunately) didn't start until last year, when I was 38.... but then, I'm still pretty guff so what do I know?!

Also, I just learned that my favourite punctuation mark - !? - is called an interrobang... now that's made my day!!

I started when I was 20. I personally think the most important thing in learning magic is the thought and practise you put in - which suits people coming to it at a slightly later age. Read a lot of theory about magic - especially stuff on showmanship. Magic is all about presentation really, the earlier you start thinking about that stuff the better.

I know you said you didn't like books, but I strongly recommend Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz, Magic and Showmanship by Henning Nelms, and pretty much anything by Eugene Burger. They won't teach you any tricks, but they will teach you magic.

Can i add Paul Brook's The Alchemical Tools to that list sir?

Im reading it right now and it's completely changed my angle on every trick i do, and i imagine every trick i'll ever do. I'm not going to go on about it until i've finished, but up to now this book is SOLID GOLD.

Hi Anthony Im 22 also and have been doing this magic malarkey for less than a year. I dont often post but read the forum alot.

I'm a visual learner also so i got The Royal Road To Card Magic DVD's by Paul Wilson and it is an excellent set and the royal road is the only place to start it seems.
The first thing he tell's you to do though is to get the book (which i already had and I'm so glad I did, so far i've found combining dvd versions of books a really good way of learning.

bobo's coin magic i found impossible to learn from as a book but combined with a dvd it made everything a lot clearer.

The ellusionist stuff you'll learn pretty fast is overpriced and sometimes (not always) sub par effects though I can argue with Brad Christians teaching ethods the man is very good.

I'd recommend the ellusionist crash course 2 ambitious card routine, its thorough and fun.

Lastly I'd recommend prowling this forum and listening to the different advice people throw out cos its always quality stuff.

Jeez, you really know how to make a person feel ancient! After a childhood interest in magic, I pretty much put it away until a year or two ago, and I'm galloping like mad to catch up on all the wasted decades.

You might enjoy DVDs, but you'll have to get used to printed material if you want to get very far (and not only in magic). All the really important stuff is in print, not on disc. You'll get a lot more for your money buying books, as well.

I'm afraid I'm not very sympathetic with people who claim to be "mainly a visual learner" or "more an auditory learner" or "not good at learning from books". If the appropriate senses and neural pathways function, you should be able to acquire information from any source.

Of course i concur Robbie. One thing i will say is i wish they'd bind books to suit the buyer. It's hard trying to keep Expert Card Technique open at the right page whilst practising the relevant sleight.

Ring binding it might not look as good but ye Gods its way more practical.

Grimshaw wrote:Of course i concur Robbie. One thing i will say is i wish they'd bind books to suit the buyer. It's hard trying to keep Expert Card Technique open at the right page whilst practising the relevant sleight.

Ring binding it might not look as good but ye Gods its way more practical.

I'll go along with that! My Christmas treat was Card College Light, and it's bound so tight that it tries to snap shut while I'm reading it. And I hate breaking spines.

Our TV remote is usually heavy enough to hold books open, but I think CCL would fling it across the room.

If you've got a proper practice area with a table and everything, maybe investing in one of those cookbook holders might be the answer.

I put my books in a music stand when I'm practising, that keeps them open nicely.

Maybe in future any book review should include a "how easy to keep it open at a given page"-ability score?

Buy Scarne on card tricks. Excellent book removing the need for complicated sleights. I reckon it would be a good place to start as a beginner. It'll give you the chance to learn how to perform without worrying about complicated sleights.

I would suggest, honestly, you buy either...
The Royal Road to Card Magic
Card College Volume One
or
Born to Perform by Oz Pearlman

They will be your basic guides to how to handle cards, how to control a card, and to shuffle properly and how to use those techniques to perform magic.

I would also buy, as suggested above
Scarne on Card Tricks
and
Karl Fulve's Self Working Card Magic.

These will enable you to perform extremely easy self working magic and let you focus on developing your presentational skills whilst still amazing your spectators.

Thanks everyone for the replies. theres lots of varied opinions on what the best way to start out is! - I think im going to pick up the royal road to card magic dvd's first. And check out some of the books mentioned, Guess i'll have to get used to reading if i want to get anywhere!

Lady of Mystery wrote:

I put my books in a music stand when I'm practising, that keeps them open nicely.

....and it stops you playing the fiddle... bonus!!

flashman wrote:Lady of Mystery wrote:

I put my books in a music stand when I'm practising, that keeps them open nicely.

....and it stops you playing the fiddle... bonus!!

Oh don't worry, I've got enough tunes tucked away in my brain that I don't need the music.