talkmagic.co.uk

I have been learning card magic for a few months now.

I am happy with what I have learnt but can never seem to find the right moment to show my magic to family. I don't want to force it upon them and don't really know how to bring it into conversation or whens the right time to show it.

Non of my family know that I have been learning this magnificent art and I want to show them just how great it is .........how do I start?

Please help

i use my family as guinee pigs, i just tell 'em to sit down and i show them something.

Maybe just take a pack of cards with you around the house shuffling them and doing little flourishes, eventually they'll ask something about them ?

Yeah I have thought about that.......I think thats goign to be the best way.

Do you have any recommendations for some good patter and building a routine?

I've never shown them a routine just the odd trick here and there. My patter could use a lot of work, at the moment i concentrate a lot on what I'm doing with the cards I figure i'll get that right first and work on the patter later

Yeah I think thats what I need to do.

When you say you haven't shown them a routine is not a few card tricks followed on by each other classed as a routine or is it I don't fully understand what a routine is????????

Yeah, i'd say a few tricks strung together is a routine. Although, a short routine I could be wrong, I'm new to this myself

One of the dictionary definitions of routine is 'a set piece of entertainment' so normally you would only class a few tricks together as a routine if they are generally performed together and linked to so they flow nicely. This doesn't mean they all have to be similar but you woul normally have a ogical reason to flow from one to the next in a prescribed order and with no break in the flow.

My guess is that when you perform a few tricks together you will do one then pause breifly to decide what you are going to do next. when performing for you family as practice for your effects there is often nothing wrong with this, but if you want to entertain a group they will be more captured by a slick flow than by the more stilted performance you get when you don't routine (prepare your routine; the dictionary I've got doesn't list routine as a verb but it is often used that way) your set properly.

I'd suggest you don't ignore the patter. The actual presentation around the effect is even more important than the technical parts of the trick. Obviously the technical aspects need to be done competently but the entertainment value is largely derived from the presentation.
Often it's better to start with self working tricks so that you can concentrate on presentation and only do tricks with sleights when you can do the sleights so comfortably that it doesn't take all your concentration and thus cause presentation to go out of the window.

Taylor,

I wouldn't say that a few card tricks constituted a 'routine' unless they were connected in some way.

To give you an idea, perhaps if you took out the 4 Aces and then did a trick with them, following it up with a transpo of the black to red Aces and then finished up with the spectators dealing out the Aces themselves that would constitute a routine.

Or if you strung (no pun intended) a few rope effects together, that would also constitute a routine.

But to do a card trick, followed by a coin trick followed by a rope trick wouldn't, unless you had a common theme to link them together.

Hope that helps.

And re the patter. You should never, ever use someone else's. The patter is what makes your version of McDonald's Aces different to mine. When you are learning a new trick you need to think and plan what your story will be to accompany the trick. That has to be your own, it has to suit you, otherwise it won't be you performing the effect.

Learning the patter is just as important as learning the trick, but one you buy and the other you develop.

I've developed patter which has been sold with effects, but you shouldn't just copy it word for word. Otherwise you are just a clone of me. Its there to start you off and to help you develop your own idea's for your own patter, to make the trick individual to you.

Developing your own patter is a very important part of maturing into a good magician Steal a trick by all means, but put your own character into the patter, you'll be much happier in the long run.

Hope this points a few of the newbies in the right direction

Thanx everyone.

At least now I know what a real routine is and can spend some time working on one.

Some advice, never be afraid to talk to family, magic is not embarrassing, its a gift, if they don’t accept the gift then walk away. But don’t be afraid to stand up and say, I’m going to show you a tick I’ve been learning please watch, your not going to get told of for that.

Its not that I'm affraid. Just don't want to force it upon them and really just want to find ways (not just with my family but with everyone) to bring in the magic and make everything flow and relavent to what we are talking about at the time.

I think I'm going to takes Biggz advice... sit down and start doing some flurishes and hope they get hooked

Its not that I'm affraid. Just don't want to force it upon them and really just want to find ways (not just with my family but with everyone) to bring in the magic and make everything flow and relavent to what we are talking about at the time.

I agree with you there Taylor. Magic shouldn't be forced on anyone, and really if they aren't getting pleasure from us performing then no one is benifiting are they?

To some extent though, our family is there to endure us Well, my lovely assistant (that's my wife in case you don't know) is always going to get to see anything I do new first and she in no way could be called a huge fan of magic (jalthough a fan of one magician I hope).

There are some family members I would never perform to though. My sister is a good example. She is just uninterested in the whole thing (or perhaps I am uninteresting? nah, can't be that).

I do tend to show the rest of them bits and pieces though, but I also know when to stop. Some are more interested than others, but none want me doing magic all evening everytime I visit.

I think it's a matter of being able to read a situation. If they don't want to see it, then really there is no point in showing them, but the more entertaining you can make what you do then the more likely they are to want to watch you next time.

Also, keep it short. Even if they want to see more. If they know that you are always going to be there showing them magic for hours they really will run a mile when you approach with a deck of cards. If you do a great routine and then walk away - then hopefully they will be eager to see what you have to show them, and may even start asking you to show them something...

just some thoughts

Thanx for your reply.

I will be purchasing Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz tonight and hope this will help me read situations and bring all the showmanship into the tricks I do.

My fiancee is a great help and loves magic as much as me but isn't intrested in learning the art.....just enjoys watching. So far she hasn't sussed any of the tricks I have shown her and tells me my magic has improved immensley since the purchase of RRTCM so hopefully when I get SM she will be blown away

Of course never force it, just ask if they dont want to recieve your gift then let the mirror watch, mine still watches me now.