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I know for most people this is probably not a very hard sleight but for me its just so nerve racking to pull it off that it always looks clumsy. Im mostly aftraid of the noise it produces. I want to use it for the "neither here nor there" trick on the royal road to card magic but im so uncomfortable with it. Does anyone have any tips on making it a bit more silent or what type of misdirection i could use?

The thing with the Top Change is not to be guilty, along with proper audience management. Depending on what method you use, sound can be reduced by using a lighter grip and angling the deck so that the cards meet in the same plane.

A bit brief, but it should help.

Take care, Ian

I am not confessing to be an expert at this sleight either but i do perform the david blaine trick when he switches the aces, quite a lot (forgive me for not knowing the name of the trick!).

I find, if you tilt the cards in your left hand at an upwards angle as you do the top change (like you are dealing a poker hand), it works quite well. Rather than trying to *hide* the move, make it obvious...the audience will 99% of the time just think you put the card on the top and then pulled it back off. also bring both hands together as you do it.

You do need a bit of mis-direction to be 100% sure, i usually just comment on the card the spectator might be holding, or if they are not holding cards, something like "why are your hands so strong, i thought you were gonna snap the card, the way you gripped it..look at them"! (inevitably most people will glance), and its a good opportunity for a joke.

and the point about the sound...if you deal a card strongly it will make a sound, as most laymen will deal like this, i dont think they will be suspicious, and they haven't been in my experience.

hope this helps...

My advice is to make it natural.
Don't make a big deal out of it. Don't make people think you might have done something, because your body language etc should say that what you've done was normal and not a move.

As for noise, I'm with Brad Christian here. As you make the change, flick the card in your right hand with your thumb to recreate the noise.
If they look and see you flicking the card making the same noise as before, they instantly arrive at the assumption that that's what the noise was.

Hope that's of some help, I'm very tired, so I may be spouting rubbish...

It must have been about 4 years ago when I saw a lecture by Patrick Page, he did an entire routine on a simple top change. He just did it boldly and kept talking as he did it. Despite knowing exactly what he was going to do each time, I still missed it because he kept speaking to us.

thanks for the advice i hope i can muster the courage to be able to do it in a relaxed manner.

All I could add is... the hand with the single card in stays still.. the movement should only be with the hand holding the deck.. and relax the audience is not thinking about the move, you are.