New to Mentalism
- Thread starter memphis90
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This is the best place to start I have been studying mentalism for a few months now, in 13 steps you will learn the basics and everything you need for just starting out. This book will introduce you to more advanced routines: Living and dead, name a number/name. You will also learn about swami gimmicks which are very useful! I don't want to say outdated but most mentalism is centered around billets, personally I love my swami. So I guess to answer your question YES this is the perfect place to start. If you have any questions please pm me for help!
I refer you to my old blog and this post in particular. Corinda is a great resource, but too many magicians buy it still thinking like magicians. They want the tricks, the secrets. They don't really learn about the performance theory or the presentation of mentalism. I put together that beginner's guide to help with that.
Thanks to both of you for your replies. Steerpike, I read your blog and really enjoyed it. I do agree that Corinda's book does have hefty amount of information and would definitely lead to overload. I'm going to grab a copy of Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. I think this will be a great help as I have previously only concentrated on card magic. Thanks again guys!
Oh dear. Yes, that needs to be taken care of soon.
The only thing about Corinda and Anneman that I would say is a little bit outdated is the use of cards. Sadly, cards have become more or less the symbols of magicians. Modern mentalism actually uses playing cards very infrequently. Even metal bending has become more of a magician thing lately. Mentalism is a cousin to magic, so it has to be careful not to seem to take on too many trappings of magic.
If you've only been working in cards, then going with Mark Wilson's really is the right choice. I'm going to take some heat for saying this, but card magic is really overplayed these days and specializing in it and then trying to do mentalism is quite possibly one of the worst ideas you can have. This is why I wrote the guide the way I did. Take the time to figure out if this is something you legitimately want to do. Otherwise, you're going to spend a lot of money on stuff you're never going to use, or will use improperly.
Thank you for the thoughts. After spending some time performing card tricks I started to feel as if I was going down a road that would lead to being one dimensional. My original mentor was a very good mentalist and although I no longer have contact with him, how he presented himself has had lasting effect on me. I would eventually like to read Corinda's book, but I would like to stay away from cards and make mentalism a separate discipline.
I agree with you on this. While I admire people like David Blaine because of pure skill alone, I don't want to be another guy who has learned an ambitious card routine, etc., and just spams it all the time (not saying Blaine is one of these). For me, card magic leaves so much to be desired when it comes to the mystique of a "magician." I do love card magic though. I just think that mentalism provides much more of a "real" effect for me. That feeling of genuine curiosity and wonder; while card tricks have a sort of mechanical feeling to them. Both are great, just very different.
I agree with you on this. While I admire people like David Blaine because of pure skill alone, I don't want to be another guy who has learned an ambitious card routine, etc., and just spams it all the time (not saying Blaine is one of these). For me, card magic leaves so much to be desired when it comes to the mystique of a "magician." I do love card magic though. I just think that mentalism provides much more of a "real" effect for me. That feeling of genuine curiosity and wonder; while card tricks have a sort of mechanical feeling to them. Both are great, just very different.
I would highly recommend getting Bob Cassidy's Fundamentals as well as Principia Mentalia. I normally recommend these before 13 Steps, just because you will feel that th effects are more applicable right now, without having to rework them or "update" them. Don't get me wrong, 13 Steps PMM are both great books and resources for material. However, I think having a better understanding of mentalism will help you study those texts and get the most out of them.
// Daniel
// Daniel
Who let you in here? ;-)
First of all, Corinda is one of the "bibles" of Mentalism and a book you should keep on your shelf and at easy access. But I would like to point you to a list of FREE pdf downloads that might help you answer some initial questions;
MENTALISM
COLD READING
SWAMI
Each of these books have resources noted within them that will help you when it comes to each key area tied to Mentalism, but as others have noted, you really want to start with Corinda, Annemann's Practical Mental Magic, as well as Bob Cassidy's 39 Steps to Mentalism and Fundamentals
You may also find the series of articles I'm doing for the new VANISH Magazine of interest (I think they will start with the next issue)
You can't go very wrong listening to Danny or Steerpike. . .
Thank you, Daniel and Craig. I really appreciate the insight from both of you. As I mentioned above, I'm going to get a copy of Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic and I will also try and find a copy of Bob Cassidy's Fundamentals. I really want to establish a good base in the history and basics of mentalism before diving into the deeper texts.
Craig- I found your books late last night and have already downloaded Mentalism: Introduction & Resource List. I'm in the process of downloading the other two right now. The mentalism introduction piece is tremendously helpful and I cannot thank you enough for creating it. I also just subscribed to VANISH Magazine and I look forward to reading your series.
Thanks again to everyone for their advice and guidance. It is truly appreciated!
Craig- I found your books late last night and have already downloaded Mentalism: Introduction & Resource List. I'm in the process of downloading the other two right now. The mentalism introduction piece is tremendously helpful and I cannot thank you enough for creating it. I also just subscribed to VANISH Magazine and I look forward to reading your series.
Thanks again to everyone for their advice and guidance. It is truly appreciated!