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HI there all hows it going

I got this out of one of my books

The Golden Rules of Magic

1. Never tell how a trick is done.

the method ( how the trick works by defintion, is not as amazing as the effect ( what the auience sees or, more correctly, thinks they have seen)that is the magic of magic

2. Never repeat a trick to the same audience

Repetition forces the audience to concentrate on the method, not the effect and the magic of the performance is lost

3. Practise! Practise! Practise!

Make sure you know what you are going to do and what you are going to say before showing a trick
Remember, have FUN and so will yor audience

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Happy Magic

Mattdini

ahhh thank you for this!

nategician wrote:ahhh thank you for this!

your welcomed its nice to meet you i am Matt from Epsom uk

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Happy Magic

Mattdini

Mattdini wrote:HI there all hows it going

I got this out of one of my books

The Golden Rules of Magic

1. Never tell how a trick is done.

the method ( how the trick works by defintion, is not as amazing as the effect ( what the auience sees or, more correctly, thinks they have seen)that is the magic of magic

2. Never repeat a trick to the same audience

Repetition forces the audience to concentrate on the method, not the effect and the magic of the performance is lost

3. Practise! Practise! Practise!

Make sure you know what you are going to do and what you are going to say before showing a trick
Remember, have FUN and so will yor audience

__________________________________

Happy Magic

Mattdini

Yes I remember these golden rules from when I was a child. Rule two "never repeat the same trick for the same audience" is not valid in geneal since it really depends of what effect we are talking about. Most of my repotoire (with a few exceptions) can be repeated as many time I wish, since I in general prefer effects that even the most astute spectators have no chance working out!

Another related rule states "never tell in advance what is going to happen".
Again in general telling in advance what is going to happens ruins the buildup as well as the climax, however there are effects where I think the magic get improved by telling in advance what is going to happen.

Mattdini wrote:2. Never repeat a trick to the same audience

Unless you can create the same effect with a different method.

Marvell wrote:

Mattdini wrote:2. Never repeat a trick to the same audience

Unless you can create the same effect with a different method.

I know many people who've won competitions just by supposedly doing this.

Marvell wrote:

Mattdini wrote:2. Never repeat a trick to the same audience

Unless you can create the same effect with a different method.

even then I'd still agree with that rule. If you're performing for other magicians then maybe you're right Marvell, but the average Joe doesn't care about the method they just care about the end effect. Show them the same trick, even with a different method and they're still going to say 'oh you just showed me that'. Unless of course you get a smart *rse who shouts out the method, then a different method can be useful.

Lady of Mystery wrote:

Marvell wrote:

Mattdini wrote:2. Never repeat a trick to the same audience

Unless you can create the same effect with a different method.

even then I'd still agree with that rule.

Maybe you should tell that to Huggard and Braue. That's one of the rules in Royal Road to Card Magic. The reason you can do it is to repeat the trick, if a repeat is requested or required, and lay up a set of mixed memories about the method, if the spek should attempt to deconstruct it.

Some effects benefit from repetition - the ACR for example. Darwin Ortiz has a nice discussion on the topic, and how to go about tackling repetition, in his book 'Designing Miracles'.

Marvell wrote:Maybe you should tell that to Huggard and Braue. That's one of the rules in Royal Road to Card Magic. The reason you can do it is to repeat the trick, if a repeat is requested or required, and lay up a set of mixed memories about the method, if the spek should attempt to deconstruct it.

Absolutely. Some of the best reactions I've seen are when an effect is repeated constantly. In fact, some magicians do this often.

And the dual-ending principle is a fantastic way to calm down hecklers too.

How else can card warp effects, sponge effects, crazy man's handcuffs, rope effects etc. be entertaining without the 'let me show you again...' line.

the ACR is a "continuous" repeating trick to some extent. the fact the spec's card can be lost more and more "impossibly" then found repeatedly is why i enjoy the ACR so much. so whilst not a literal repeat of the same action the ACR can perhaps semi-qualify as a trick that can be repeated at least in so far as the steps are concerned.

of course there are many tricks that should NEVER be repeated, many levitations for example could be dangerous to repeat.

perhaps an interesting list would mention those that can vs those that shouldn't.

seige wrote:How else can card warp effects, sponge effects, crazy man's handcuffs, rope effects etc. be entertaining without the 'let me show you again...' line.

Oh totally! There are tricks where the repeats are part of the routine, like ACR, sponge and rope routines. But there are also tricks where there shouldn't be a repeat, unless you're going to add a different twist to it. It was those kinds of tricks that I was talking about.

I guess it all depends on the trick, the routine and the situation.

I have three aceprodctions, all quite different but giving the same results and I string them together with a sort of AC patter explaining how difficlt it is to keep the aces apart

I agree actually that its ok to show the same trick as long as it has a different ending. I usually do one trick then do the trick again but with a different ending they think they know whats coming but really your just leading them up the garden path. Bearing in mind thoe the second ending has to be a lot stronger than the first.

So we're all agreed that you shouldn't repeat a trick using the same method then? Unless it's so foolproof that it doesn't matter like Crazy Man's.