talkmagic.co.uk

To use Craigs term, we do get quite a few wannabies on magic forums. Some of these only post "tell me a secret" before vanishing forever, but some just ask advice on tricks they have seen TV magicians do. Thes could be mentalists, street magicians, etc. No names as I think there are enough threads bashing certain magicians. I agree with lots of Craigs comments, but thought it would be interesting to have a discussion from both sides.

Here are some wannabe points to start.

Some buy the latest thing they have seen done on TV, then read the instructions and go out and perform badly, either making people bored or showing them how it is done, as they can't do it properly.

Others will put the time and effort in, changing it to their own routine.

Some will just keep buying the must have items, others will decide that they are ready to start learning from books and DVDs.

All in all, are they ruining an effect by the fact that so many people are doing it, or is it ok to encourage them if they only want to do this type of stuff, in the hope that we can help them change to better ways over time?

Could it be an idea to ask what things they are interested in? Usually they only ask about one thing at a time. If we asked for a list of effects they want to achieve, we can direct them to the right books etc, which have got the non gimmicked ways of doing it. I know we do that now quite often, but so many of them want to spend £20 on one thing they can do straight away, instead of a book that will take longer to learn. If we find that there are 4 things from there list of effects in one book, it will mean that we can say that the effects you want will cost you £20 from this book, or about £80 if you buy the items individualy. It MIGHT make them realise just how much better learning from a book or DVD is.

Some interesting thoughts...

Fact is, we all start off as a wannabe; some of us are very young while others are consdierably older but there is a starting point in there somewhere and that typically coencides with whoever is "the dude" on Tv at the time be it Doug Henning, David Copperfield or our current reign of terror in the form of Derren Brown, Criss Angel and David Blaine. True to the sheep we human beings tend to be, mimickery is the course of action. In the 70s and well into the 90s everyone was buying the latests in big, overpriced boxes into which we tossed hapless young ladies and did nasty things to them. Then, in the late 90s something interesting happened; a mumbling street kid pulled the rug out from under everyone's feet by doing a one hour special employing less than $500.00 worth of base magic shop tricks and some personal brass.

Not only did Blaine redefine magic in the mind of both, the lay-public and the magic buff, he redefined the performance venue and lead a lot of young people to believe that "Street Magic" was profitable (which is far from the truth... especially if you are doing the same stuff everyone's seen done on the tube.)

Mickery is normal sad to say, but it is where most of us begin and it takes time along side experience, before we begin shifting out of that category and actually thinking for ourselves... some of us never will make that step in that "life" keeps side tracking us and too, many of us simply don't have the skills or discipline for making it happen.

I had one of my students ask me why people think what I do is "real" and yet, he can do the same exact routine and people see it as being a cute trick. Well, the answer is very simple; I've invested 30 years into learning how to be a cunning and manipulative artist Which brings us to the real issue here and why I see most as being Newbies or "Wannabes"... Even in the professional world my longevity as an active performer/technician in this industry is a bit exceptional given my age (though I whimper alot about being old, I'm still a few years away from 50 -- it's the milage that will kill you though)

Anyhow, my thoughts are scattering all over the place... I just wanted to check in on this, in that my name was invoked

There is one shame about wannabies, who find that they can't do the type of masgic they have seen on TV. They are more likely to give up, rather than trying other forms of magic. I was more interested in card magic when I started, but bought items from a range of different magic styles. I have settled down into childrens magic, learning cards and close up as a an extra because I enjoy it.

Maybe that is the difference.
A Wannabe wants to copy what he has seen, thinking they can just go straight into it and get the same reactions.

Non wannabes spend more time thinking how to get the entertainment factor in there, in order to get good reactions.

Well, perhaps it's useful to think in terms of an analogy. Many people learn the guitar every year. Some want to play the songs they like, while others are interested in exploring what's possible. The people who just want to play the songs they like might end up joining a covers band, while others might form a band to write their own stuff.

To me, buying and using someone else's trick and using it as per the instructions is playing a cover version. Making up your own stuff, or stripping a bought trick down and rebuilding it to how you want it, is writing your own songs.

The thing is, regardless of which we are, we all started learning the magical equivilent of Smoke on the Water - the ACR! And doing it badly!

to keep on track with the guitar analogy, whenever i used to teach it people to play i always said that its fine to learn to play someone elses solo note for note, but it wont sound like you...in fact, it wont even sound like them...cos you arent anyone else but yourself...

i used to make them buy their favourite band's live album, and tell them to imagine that they've joined the band...so when they played their solos, it had to fit in with the song, but it sounded like themselves...

ahhh, i was "in" so many bands when i was teaching myself, The James Gang, Band of Gypsies, Electric Flag, Crosby Stills Nash and Young....anyway....

i've always thought the same for cards, even if you tweak it just a little, or alter the storyline in some way, at least you are being more realistic and the phrasing of the patter sounds more natural...and thats cos its coming from you...

I think its important to point out to wannabe's that magic is like a GCSE or O level (for the older people). Its not instant. You can't just buy a single high impact trick on DVD sand say "Yay! I'm a magician" it does not work like that. Plus is it also worth pointing out how expensive magic is. Single trick DVDs are expensive and new people need to be shown the fact that they can have one trick on a DVD for £20 or they can get something like Born To Perform for the same amount of money with much more on it. Then they need to make the choice. Royal Road To Card Magic (DVD or Book) plus a deck or two of cards in enough to keep a wannabe card magician busy for many weeks if not months to learn and perfect all included in it. Or do they spend that money on one or two tricks they have seen on TV? Any way thats just my thoughts.

I'd have to disagree on the guitar anology somewhat. Playing other peoples songs will improve your technique just as much as learning new chords, scales. I play guitar and I do both during my practise.

However, I agree with you on that learning magic takes the same amount of time and dedication that learning a instrument will take. You can't expect you just buy a trick and expect to pull it off perfectly first time (you could if it was a self working trick or a gimmick but you might end up feeling like you wasted your money) just like you can't expect to pick up a guitar first time and play like Eric Clapton.

I have tried many times to post useful advice but it is always ignored. Books are a great source if people would only listen.