sleight of hand – Page 14

Too Hard???

In my lecture for magicians, I have too many tricks that use sleight of hand. Yesterday I did a lecture and it hit me that there aren’t really any “self working tricks” that I teach. What I teach isn’t hard, the most difficult thing I do in the lecture is a two ball roll up … Continue reading “Too Hard???”

In my lecture for magicians, I have too many tricks that use sleight of hand. Yesterday I did a lecture and it hit me that there aren’t really any “self working tricks” that I teach. What I teach isn’t hard, the most difficult thing I do in the lecture is a two ball roll up for the three ball routine.

Being aware of this will make the lecture have more value to everyone who attends. Having something you can walk away doing is important for a magic lecture. My thinking when I put together the material for the lecture was that a thumb palm with a thimble is a pretty standard and basic sleight. I always forget that there are a lot of magicians that don’t do any sleight of hand at all. I need something in the lecture for them.

I’ve got a couple more lectures coming up and I’m going to be sure to add something self working to the list of things I teach and talk about!

Finger Placement…

When doing card sleights, the exact placement of your fingers can make the difference between a good and sloppy move. I was working on a pass with a deck of cards and was having trouble with it. A friend gave me some good advice and said I should hold it more towards my finger tips. Guess what that worked!

Recently I was learning Aaron Fisher’s One Hand Pop Out and that’s another move where finger positions are very important. You can make it happen with your fingers in the wrong spot, but it won’t look as good or work as good.

If you’re working on something and it’s giving you trouble, try changing your finger positions, or revisiting where you learned it to make sure you are still doing it correctly!

Second Thought…

One of the books I brought with me to read while I’m performing on this cruise ship is Seven Thoughts by Sungwon Kim. This is all card magic, and I brought it to give me something to do, and two work on. The second trick is called Swing Cut Aces. Basically you swing cut a … Continue reading “Second Thought…”

When I first tried it, it looked like garbage, I wasn’t even sure how the trick looked “magical”. I kept plugging away and doing it over and over and finally it’s starting to look intentional, not like I accidentally cut to a face up ace. Mechanically, it’s not too difficult, but it needs to be done smoothly.

The key to this was to keep going, and not give up on it until it got smooth(ish). I think if I was on land I would have bailed on this before it got smooth, however at sea I’ve got a ton of time. I’m glad I did put in the time for this. It’s not something that I’ll use in my main card set, but it’s another tool I’ve added to my toolbox of sleight of hand moves with a deck of cards.

Now this has me thinking about all the moves that I’ve read in books that only tried a dozen times and dismissed them a junk. I think that deciding to “learn” a new move or not is a balance. It’s a mix of how much time you, and how useful the move may be in the future.

There are tricks that I’ve wanted in my show because I like the idea of them. Many of these classic tricks are very briefly in the show as they don’t work with me and how I work. One of these tricks is the Three Ball Routine. I’ve put it in and taken it out of the show probably a dozen times.

Recently a company called The Hands of Magic put out a set of silicone balls for the trick. I just picked up a set, and while I haven’t used them in a show, they work great when I practice with them.

These balls are a bit different from the bouncy balls you’d get at the two store. They less dense and have a bit of give to them. This is helpful when you accidentally drop them, they don’t go as far as super balls.

These balls also have a nice gloss on them, that hopefully won’t wear off. The gloss will make them look a little bit bigger and will make them play a bit bigger than a matte ball.

So far I like these balls and would recommend them…now to find a spot in my show for them.

Phone Book in the Google World…

There’s a growing group of magicians that are anti-technology in their magic. The are against using thing that use electronics, and while I partially agree with them, I don’t completely agree. I agree that you need to have a base in sleight of hand, and be able to make the trick happen if the tech fails, but I disagree that you shouldn’t use tech.

If we didn’t use technology, then we wouldn’t have latex or plastic thumb tips, they’d still be made of metal. Technology makes magic grow, otherwise we’d still be doing the tricks out of Discoverie of Witchcraft.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/The_Discoverie_of_Witchcraft_%281651%29.jpg/220px-The_Discoverie_of_Witchcraft_%281651%29.jpg

While some of those methods are still valid, a lot of them are antiquated. That’s why embracing technology is a good thing. While you don’t have to use electronic methods, you don’t shouldn’t judge others who do.

Opener?

Earlier today someone in a Facebook group asked “What’s a good opener for kids that I can buy…” There are a few things wrong with this question. I also think this type of question shows what’s wrong with magic, no one wants to think or work, yes they all want to be thought of as … Continue reading “Opener?”

Earlier today someone in a Facebook group asked “What’s a good opener for kids that I can buy...” There are a few things wrong with this question. I also think this type of question shows what’s wrong with magic, no one wants to think or work, yes they all want to be thought of as “artists”.

My first problem with the post is that they are asking for advice about their show without offering us any information about their show. The opener sets the one for your show, if you do a more serious show, your opener will be a lot different from the opener of a comedy act. Just because someone says something is a good opener, doesn’t mean it’s a good one for YOU.

The next issue is that they should be learning their craft. Why aren’t they making a list of what they want to accomplish with their opener? Then do some research and find a trick that fits it, instead of asking a bunch of strangers to feed it to you.

My final problem is they are asking what to buy. I could be wrong, but that’s implying they want something that’s fully formed, and easy to do. They don’t want to work. They don’t want to write the script, or learn some sleight of hand.

My advice is to do the work when you’re a beginner, it makes doing the work later much easier!

Be Your Worst Critic!

The first magic book I ever got was The Amateur Magician’s Handbook written by Henry Hay. The title is a little bit misleading as this really isn’t a good book for beginners. This book teaches you some pretty hard stuff . It also teaches some pretty old techniques that aren’t really used anymore. Things like … Continue reading “Be Your Worst Critic!”

It also teaches some pretty old techniques that aren’t really used anymore. Things like back palming multiple coins, or using edge grip to produce multiple coins. It’s not that these are bad techniques it’s just that they aren’t modern.

One of the chapters in later editions of this book is on using video to practice. I was talking to a magician friend and he mentioned one of his mentors told him he was practicing in the mirror too much. He needed to not watch himself practice. He learned to work to himself in the mirror, but he needed to be able to do without seeing himself.

That’s where video comes in, you can see what you are doing, but not in real time. Mirror work has a time, but watching and taking notes in video is a helpful step. I’m working on something new and it looks great in the mirror. Take me away from the mirror and my right arm is stiff, and unnatural. The problem was in the mirror I’m reacting to what I’m seeing and making my right arm natural. Without the mirror, I wasn’t getting the feedback, and the result was a unnatural movement.

TLDR: step away from the mirror and watch yourself practice on video.

Sometimes You Need To Take the Long Road…

Magicians love to take short cuts and be lazy. Here’s an example, I’m doing a trick where loose rubber bands turn into a rubber band ball. The easy way would simply be to do a shuttle pass during a hand to hand transfer. However I had some conditions that I wanted for the trick: 1: The … Continue reading “Sometimes You Need To Take the Long Road…”

Magicians love to take short cuts and be lazy. Here’s an example, I’m doing a trick where loose rubber bands turn into a rubber band ball. The easy way would simply be to do a shuttle pass during a hand to hand transfer. However I had some conditions that I wanted for the trick:

1: The change had to feel like it was a visual change
2: I needed to end with my hands empty
3: The trick needed to be able to happen at anytime in my show
4: The ball had to be able to bounce

The first and second conditions made something simple like a shuttle pass not the solution for me.

Ending clean made things a bit more complicated. An early idea was to use a gimmicked rubber band ball that was similar to a Silk to Ball Gimmick. However making one that could bounce and not look strange is something I have yet to figure out.

Here’s what I ended up coming up with:

What I ended up doing from a “method” standpoint was a lot more complicated than a shuttle pass, but I think it fulfilled my artistic vision better than a shuttle pass would have.

P.S. The method for this will be in an upcoming issue of Vanish Magazine

Not Everything Is Easy…

Every time I hear magicians complain that tricks are too hard, it drives me nuts. Why wouldn’t you try to learn something difficult? If you are an artist, you should be pushing yourself to learn to do difficult techniques. Here’s what Kennedy thinks about it: A great example is I’ve been working on a false … Continue reading “Not Everything Is Easy…”

A great example is I’ve been working on a false shuffle for about a year now. It’s not quite right, and I’m still practicing it. Should I give up?

No, and here’s why: It’s the best looking false shuffle I have ever seen. Sure I could stick to something that looks good enough, and that’s fine, but why wouldn’t I go all the way, make my art the best it can be? I do it because that’s what separates me from 80% of other magicians, and I do it because I take pride in my work.

Go out and learn to do something difficult!

Do It Right!

Over the weekend I got to watch many performers showcase their acts to a room full of people who book entertainment. I got to watch one magician, who I’ve known for years and he did everything right when doing the cups and balls on stage!

Here’s the problem with the cups and balls, it’s not a stage trick. It’s a close up trick that takes up a lot of space. This makes a lot of performers think they can do it on a stage. Unfortunately, you cannot just put it on stage and have it work for 300 people without solving a couple of problems.

The first problem is the table top. If you are on a raised stage, the audience’s vision of the table top can be blocked because they have to look up at this. Years ago when I used to do the cups and balls in my show, I solved this by having my table sit at an angle, this is the same solution that I saw over the weekend. As a bonus it puts motion into the balls when you lift the cups and they roll, making the trick play a little bit larger.

The second problem with doing cups on stage is the balls most magicians use are very small, and usually a dull color. The ones with the crocheted covers don’t reflect light, this makes them appear smaller onstage. If they were glossy, they’d appear slightly larger as they reflect light. The magician I saw used glossy, bright red balls that were very big, at least an inch in diameter. You could see them from the back of the large banquet hall.

Take a look at your show, how can you make it play bigger, especially if you are moving from close up to stage.