talkmagic.co.uk

I've been slowly teaching myself magic for about 2 weeks now. When I say magic I mean attempting palming with coins and shuffling with cards, I've not got on to any tricks yet. That's as far as I've got so far. I'm really happy with my progress and I'll keep trooping on as it's so much fun! I treated myself to Modern Coin Magic and Royal road and have the intention of getting Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic (Some great reviews in the reviews section by the way and its sounds really cool - Cheers)

Magic is the only hobby/interest since learning the guitar 10-12 years ago I feel excited and strongly enough to carry on with, I'm absolutely loving it! (You may have already gathered from my other posts?)

Anyway on with the post.

I've watched nearly everything Derren Brown related via 4 on demand and bought his book "Tricks of the Mind". I think I'm obsessing over it! I can't stop thinking about all the shows I've watched and am sat in work slyly reading his book when I should be working. It's absolutely brilliant and it get's me wondering, thinking and excited. I'm honestly amazed and think it's mind blowing!!

I expect you are reading this thinking "God please not another Derren Brown Thread!" well it sort of is.....it's just a general excitement thread on my part and Derren is the only magic related TV performance I've been able to watch. I've showed some friends who aren't really interested in magic a few clips from Youtube and they all have the same reaction as me. I think I'm going to have a large group heading to his performance in Bristol. I hope when I finally get to perform some magic tricks my spectators will have a similar reaction, a sense of wonder and bewilderment. It must feel amazing and I envy all you guys who can do it!

I'm actually thinking of writing a blog on my progress as a beginner as it could be interesting?! I don't know or possibly helpful to any other beginners in the future. Not sure how to go about it and not sure of how much to divulge? If anyone thinks this may be a good idea or bad idea let me know and I may pursue it....it's just any idea at the moment.

Oh and I've just started to watch a re-run of the history of magic on UKTV Documentary. Lucky me eh? I've watched "Mind Magic" and "Levitation". Very good so far and I'm looking forward to "Close Up Magic" the most. I was also extremely impressed by the old posters that were used as advertisements, stunning artwork and design - I WANT ONE!. Went off at a tangent then..sorry.

I did have a question ....oh yeah that's it! What other magicians are worth checking out and can I buy DVD's of their performances? I think it's important to be able to watch a master at work. It's inspirational and you can learn a lot from it IMO. When I watch Jimi Hendrix, Slash, Angus Young on the guitar and all I want to do is pick my guitar up and play.

I'll watch anything but I'm mainly interested in card and coin tricks...at the moment anyway

I feel out of breath typing this

Thanks a lot,
Adam

look at James Brown, he makes you want to work hard.

Lennart Green makes you see what is possible with cards

love them both - James Brown because it shows what is possible with misdirection, and Mr Green because he makes card handling look like real magic!

Juliana Chen is well worth watching, the way she incorporates music and dance into her magic is stunning.

My Inspirations

James Brown - heavy misdirection
David Stone - close up genious
Jay Sankey - very commercial, funny and creative


Also check Jaun Tamariz for enchanting storylines!!

try and find some clips of Tony Slydini aswell.. one of the masters of the art.. when he was around.. alas

James Brown for me also, he does great misdirection and impromptu magic which is my favourite.

Dave Forrest also has some great effects out there, Trickery is on my wish list, I don't need at the minute but every time I see it somewhere I'm twitching towards my credit card.

Oh and don't forget to check out Dai Vernon's material, he is one of the all time greats.

I'd say go for the Dai Vernon material. He's inspired magicians like Copperfield and Sankey.

Hehe, me and you are almost in the same boat, seeing as though we're both newbies and all! Reading that first post of yours is almost like reading my own biography. At the moment I want to look at some stuff by Lennart Green, Dai Vernon, Daryl and John Scarne, as well as Guy Hollingworth. And, although I may get slated for this, I'm quite a fan of Brad Christian as well, from what I've seen of him. Too many people, too many books, too many DVDs, not enough time or money!!

This is cool, thanks for your replies! So I have this list to go on with -

James Brown
Lennart Green
Juliana Chen
David Stone
Jay Sankey
Dave Forrest
Dai Vernon
John Scarne
Tony Slydini

I'll try YouTube for some clips to begin with and then try to locate some DVD's. I've just found this list on Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_magicians which should also come in handy as well.

Also here is a sample of the magic posters I was on about http://www.historyfocus.com/historyfocu ... mples1.jpg how cool?! Bit Pricey though!!

Lyncho - Hows it going being a newbie then? Are you just trying cards or anything else as well?

oh and if you like rope magic, you've got to have a look out for Francis Tabary

I suggest strongly, that you not only look at magicians' tricks, but at magic theory and presentation too. Strong Magic and Magic & Showmanship are two incredibly important reads on presentation making the magic happen. As you'd probably discovered, the magic is not in the moves, it's in the presentation.

What you'll find from DVDs like Trickery, Get Nyman or even The Devil's Picture Book, say, are that the effects don't look spectacular because they're not live performances. Hardly any of the instructional material contains any wow factor.

What I found most useful was watching something like work of Derren Brown in a live context after gaining some knowledge of the mechanics of magic and just seeing how much he makes of it.

If, like me, you appreciate the showmanship of Derren Brown (Trick or Treat notwithstanding) then you must read Absolute Magic, but read Strong Magic (his favourite book) first.

For some wow factor though, you should take the list of magicians suggested and search YouTube for some of their performance work.

jbauerctu wrote:Lyncho - Hows it going being a newbie then? Are you just trying cards or anything else as well?

At the moment I'm sticking to cards, with a little bit of coin. I like the idea of mixing gambling tricks, magic tricks and XCM and being a "card sharp" sort of person, the kind of guy who knows all the scams, the sleight of hand, the false deals and all that. I basically want to be a wizard with a pack of cards. That's why I love Dai Vernon, Scarne and Lennart Green so much.

I reckon I'll broaden my horizons a little over the summer though, I plan on getting Modern Coin Magic and Complete Course in Magic as well, so I'm a little more well-rounded.

Marvell wrote:I suggest strongly, that you not only look at magicians' tricks, but at magic theory and presentation too. Strong Magic and Magic & Showmanship are two incredibly important reads on presentation making the magic happen. As you'd probably discovered, the magic is not in the moves, it's in the presentation.

What you'll find from DVDs like Trickery, Get Nyman or even The Devil's Picture Book, say, are that the effects don't look spectacular because they're not live performances. Hardly any of the instructional material contains any wow factor.

What I found most useful was watching something like work of Derren Brown in a live context after gaining some knowledge of the mechanics of magic and just seeing how much he makes of it.

If, like me, you appreciate the showmanship of Derren Brown (Trick or Treat notwithstanding) then you must read Absolute Magic, but read Strong Magic (his favourite book) first.

For some wow factor though, you should take the list of magicians suggested and search YouTube for some of their performance work.

I'm loving "tricks of the mind" I'm on to the Memory section which is AMAZING!

I've done a quick search on Amazon and Play for his other books but to no avail! I assume they are rare now??

I'll be firing up YouTube when I get home later! Wouldn't work in work today

I would suggest "on the spot" by Gregory Wilson, very good misdirection. most of the Jay sankey DVD's are good. Also try out "born to perform card magic" by Oz pearlman.

Cool cheers mate!!

Lots of well informed replies!!

Thanks

Does anybody think writing a blog is a good idea? Obviously from a beginners point of view.....hmmm.

Half of me thinks yeah halsf of me thinks no.

Plus I'm bored in work and might give me something to do as well as palming a coin