talkmagic.co.uk

As I progress slowly along my royal road and up my learning curve, I think to myself that some things that are making my life easier might also make another's life easier. Here are my thoughts of the moment.

I've just started a card index of tricks I use. This is becuase:

a) I can't quite remember where I saw them (which book or DVD)
b) they are not always grouped how I want them
c) I don't really want to annotate my books
d) I'd like to be able to link them
e) there are loads of tricks in my books I'll never use

I'm recording the name and location (book and page) of the trick as well as writing the method in short hand. I'm also recording wther or not you need a setup and how it finishes.

I'm creating lots of indexes (or indecies) which groups the tricks and maps which link them or groups of them.

Being a software engineer, I should really do this with a computer, but I find my magic fits so much nicer into the gaps in real life that I can play around with things whilst the pasta is boiling for instance.

Also, at the end of the day of computer work, I don't really want to sit there on a computer again. I really ahve to force myself to be here

In any case, I'm starting this early because I know that if I don't, and the number of books increases, I'll never start it at all.

Yup, it's a good'un. Whatever you do, I think the best tip is to generally keep tags on stuff. Keep a list/index of all the tricks you know of whatsover, then form some kind of code to put by them, maybe a colour code, of whatever category helps you.

I currently have it listed into cards/close-up (ie. boxes, dice, paddles etc)/mentalism/geek; I then keep a list of sleights or concepts as I learn them to aid putting together my own effects. You can then make separate codes or tags for tricks you can do perfectly if called upon, tricks you could perform after a bit of refreshment, tricks that still need work and tricks you only really know how to do.
Thus, you can order your practice accordingly. You've got stuff easily on hand should you want to run through the already good ones to keep them smooth or work out new patter, you can polish off the "nearly there" ones to have something else in your repertoire in a matter of minutes, or you can sink your teeth into a new effect that will take some practice.

It's also a nice confidence boost when you feel sometimes as a beginner that you don't have much of a repertoire - I counted just the other night and had about 50 effects I could do fairly confidently! I realise that pales into insignificance compared to many on this forum but knowing that they're a good mix of the above categories I mentioned, and that you really are only advised to do a few effects per table/group when you perform, it inspired me to stop spending money on new effects and get out performing the ones I can do!

I do a similar thing. I've got a list of all the tricks that I like in a note book with any setup or gimicks that they require. I catogorise them into clean, dirty start but clean finish, clean start but dirty finish, dirty

Really helpful when putting together routines. I always like to finish my routines clean, so this makes planning much easier.

and always revisit the effects you feel unsuitable after a while too...you'll be surprised how much they change within your mind after a bit of time and some performances under your belt...

50 effects?! blimey...