May 08 :: Practice

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waynehouchin

theory11 artist
Elite Member
Aug 31, 2007
295
1
Chico, CA
www.waynehouchin.com
This month's Cerca Trova comes from a suggestion that Longman made: How do you practice? I think that this is a very good question - we all have our own ways and methods of preparing for a performance.

For example:

>> First I will practice in front of a mirror until the effect looks like I want it to.

>> I then remove the mirror so that I do not fall into the trap of relying on my reflection to accomplish the effect.

>> After I feel I have mastered the performance of the effect without a reflection, I will videotape my performance. I will then continue to test & tweak the performance until I feel it is as perfect as it can be.

>> Then comes live performance. I will perform the effect for a live audience and pay very close attention to what works and what doesn't work. This process is repeated... for a very long time.

So how do you practice? How long do you practice for? Are there any tips or suggestions that you have for others? Are there any questions that you have regarding practice?
 
May 3, 2008
3
0
USA
Hey wayne good idea for Cerca trova.Heres what i do:
1]practice sleights in room until i can do it.Not amazingly well but not horrible.
2]Next i use a mirror to get an idea of the spectators view on it.
3]Practice in my room again.
4]Video tape it and critic myself
5]show parents the effect
6]script
7]Hit the streets!
heres what i try to do practice before i actually perform it to friends and strangers.
thanks,
-ew33
 

JoeCarr

Banned
Jan 6, 2008
664
0
Manchester
for cardistry:
1. Do the move as slow as humanly possible, each move i have in mind to practice that night, i get out the deck, and do it as if i have arthiritus, so i can see exactly where each finger goes, and how to grip each pack
2. I try to go at 100 m/ph over my bed, and see what goes wrong first, eg. which packet i drop, i then know what to focus on in that cut
3. i practice the move at a constant pace until i can do it with my eyes closed (literally) but not fast...
4. i try to put smoothness and style into the move, and make sure it looks good in the mirror..
5. I now have a cut that has all the correct finger positions, can be done confidently, and speed will come.... :D
 
1. First I watch/read whatever I am learning and how to do it in the book/dvd over and over again.
2. I always practice in front of a mirror after that.
3. I do the trick every moment I have freetime
4. I show some family and friends and ask them for criticism.
5. I repeat steps one through four over and over again until I get no bad critisism.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,699
1
34
Cool, it's my suggestion.

What do I do to practice? Simple: I have a plan.

I always start with a script. I need to know where I'm going with the trick before I learn it. This is especially true with coin magic, since I use my body language to cover my sleights. I base when I will do each sleight on the part of my presentation that best covers it.

Once I have mapped out what exactly it is that I'm practicing, I'll do a quick hand and finger warm-up, do a few flourishes or coin rolls. Usually, I'll set aside the patter for later, just going over it in my head. I work a lot on control. A lot of the time, I like to fidget with the deck, which doesn't look good.

In one session, I'll go over between one and three tricks. Doing them all the way through at least ten times each. I do the first time through as slowly as I can, and then speed up. I'm working for smoothness. When I actually do a trick, I'm going at about a speed three to four. If I ever stumble on a specific sleight, I go back and keep doing it over and over, until I've either gotten it down, or gotten carpal tunnel syndrome (exaggeration). If the latter is the case, I'll just move on and come back to it in a few days.

I try to get in at least four to six two-hour practices a day, which can be tough with school, so I always try to have cards or coins with me so I can passively practice palming or vanishes, etc.

I generally will get one of my friends who I show everything to and practice on him once a week, just so I can do it without a mirror and so I can get some feedback.

So that's my routine. Tips? Get all of the mechanical stuff down so you don't even have to think about it. Get used to looking people in the eye. Nothing is better practice than getting out and performing for real people. You will never find all of your flaws. Other people will. You'll get really good really fast. But do practice before you perform. Have a plan.
 
D

Deleted member 2755

Guest
Great idea for this month's topic. :)

If it is a video, I follow along with the actions of the video over.... and over.... and over... and over again until I can do it alright. The sleight or flourish doesn't have to be great. As long as I can basically do it that is fine. I do the same with books. I follow along with the text.

I then do it for myself without the video (or book) in front of me while standing or sitting in front of a mirror. After doing this several times, I will record myself doing it using a web cam. After getting all angles and making sure I have the moves down, I will just repeat the moves over and over while doing every day things such as watching TV.

As for tips... if you don't get something after a while, take a break and move on to something else. Then go back to it. With the Jones Change and a sleight in Queens (from the Trilogy), I had trouble with both. First I was doing the Jones change, but I just couldn't do it. I took a break and went to Queens. What's funny is how I had trouble with a sleight with Queens so I went back to my Jones Change after a few days and I could do it almost perfectly. I practiced the Jones Change for a few days and then I went back to Queens. Bam. I could do it almost perfectly. :) This has happened to me with a few other effects. I recommend taking a short break from something if you have too trouble with it. Hope that helps. :)

-Doug
 
Nov 17, 2007
519
1
I don't really have a WAY that I practice. I mainly practice flourishing and when I do, I am normally watching TV or listening to music on my computer. Nothing else. =)
 
1. Learn the sleights in the routine individually.
2. Master the sleights in the routine individually.
3. Practice the routine as a whole without patter.
4. Script the routine.
5. Edit the scripting of the routine.
6. Memorize the script.
7. Practice the routine as a whole with patter.
8. Perfect the routine and add in any subtleteys thought of.
9. Go out and perform the routine.
 
I practice without the mirror first, to get used to the handling of the effect.

When I get comfortable enough, I begin to practice in front of the mirror to work on angles and such.

After I feel that I can perform the trick 102% effectively and well enough, I perform it for my parents. If they catch anything, I continue to work on it.

Then when I feel that I can perform the effect well enough, I show it to my friends. I observe their reaction and afterwards, I continue to try to master the effect.

I practice magic around 30 minutes a day, but it varies each day.

I strongly suggest video taping yourself because in front of the mirror, I feel that I do everything smoothly, but when I see myself on tape, it's a whole another story. I see bad angles, choppiness, and so on. Before performing it "big time" ( that's the only way I can describe it) show your work to your family first. I don't think that they'll be too hard on you if you flash and what not.

;D
 
Sep 1, 2007
223
1
Florida.
My practice regimen is simple:

- I first learn the effect. (DVD, Book etc...)
- Once learned I then do the effect as fast as humanly possible several times, maybe around 20-30 times. (What this does is build memory.)
- Now I slow it down to regular performance speed, another 20-30 times.

By now I can usually do the trick effectively and smoothly, most of the time.....

Then its is just a matter of making up some patter to go along with it.

That is all I do.
 
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Jan 6, 2008
46
0
www.myspace.com
Very very good post/idea.

First is the basics: sleights, handling, body movements, etc.
Second I work it in front of the mirror for a while.
Third comes without the mirror
Fourth, I work on the script without the deck/prop. I do the motions as if I had them, but only work on my script.
Fifth and sixth is where I put the script and prop together: working on it in front of a mirror and then without it, respectively
Fifth, I turn the lights out. That's right, I go into a completely dark room. Here I work on everything. Ensuring, to me, that I have EVERY SINGLE aspect of the entire trick/effect down.
Last is the ever popular live performance. Usually it will just be for a friend or family member. I then go back to the bat cave and review my performance. What worked? What didn't? What do I need to change? I then recored these observations and begin making adjustments back at step 4 then I rinse and repeat.

The only thing I find I have slight problems with is motivation. In order to get through it all, I keep in mind the end result. The screaming spectators or the blank stares...


--
P:L
philiplupo
 
Nov 6, 2007
1
0
San Diego
Lupo makes a great point. For me, practice really starts in front of an audience. The solo time is imperative, but not sufficient. Immediately after each performance I make an effort to write down or record my thoughts on the performance. Some posts have already mentioned practicing fast and slow, and then doing the effect at normal speed. How do you know what normal speed is without an audience to guide you? This is one of the reasons that Wayne's performance and presentation is brilliant. He pushes the envelope of how slow a sleight can be performed and still go unnoticed. Watch his rub away vanish when he is performing the invisible palm. beautiful. But it could not have happened unless he had taken the time to practice it slower and slower in front of audiences.

To better answer the question:

I train at home, then practice in front of an audience.
 
Sep 1, 2007
648
0
30
Canada
When I was practicing a routine for a competition a while ago, I used to keep a practice journal. In this journal I would take notes during practice sessions and keep track of the amount of times I went through the routine fully. I would also write down practice goals before the session, for example "smooth out second phase" or whatever. This helped me to tweak my routine until it was the best I thought it could be at the time. It's kind of fun too!
 
Sep 1, 2007
662
2
I'm a big fan of learning by doing. I'm at the stage now where I want to use sleights to accomplish something, so I usually don't do much in the way of "sleight practise". So I'll usually just jazz from one routine to the next, working my way through my repertoire and every now and then stopping to go over something in more depth. I spend a lot of time fine tuning patter and brainstorming presentational ideas.

I do this til I'm confident with the execution, then I'll show my test audiences. I notice a lot of people saying that they "ask for feedback" which I don't agree with. I just perform the thing and judge from the reactions how well I did. I think asking for feedback kind of cheapens what you just did.

As far as practise hours goes, it varies wildly. But I don't really think of it as "practise" anyhow - its just fun! I usually have quite a lot of "fun" most days :)

I also have joined several discussions on these boards about younger members prioritising magic practise over schoolwork. I think there has to be a balance and it can be difficult to find that balance.
 
Nov 15, 2007
1,106
2
35
Raleigh, NC
1)Go over the effect step by step. Practicing any new moves i need or working on ones that are giving me trouble.
2)Practice running through the routine, silently, in front of a mirror. When I feel as though I have it down I move to create some patter, sometimes from scratch and sometimes it's loosely based on the creators patter.
3)Continue practice with video camera/just in my room. This is also when my parents and a few friends get to see it. I have a few friends who do magic and they are very blunt about flashing and/or if something looks awkward.
4)Polish. This is where the video camera is really useful, if I can't fool myself, then it probably needs a little work.
5)I usually take it to strangers/more friends, all the while thinking of ways to tweak the performance or use different, easier(for me), sleights...sometimes changing whole sections of the routine to get reactions...this is something I just started doing seriously.

6)I also take time to go over older tricks/sleights that I don't use as often and try and figure out why I don't do them, this is probably once a month thing-but during the hours I practice.

Good Cerca Trova topic, I'm sifting through replies and will probably add or change my practice schedule. Especially since I've been wanting to make my way into flourishing for the past few months.
 
Dec 28, 2007
325
0
31
Finland
I think this will be more like gallup than a discussion.

To be honest, I practise quite undisciplined.
Usually it starts with a sleight.
I encounter a sleight in a book when I'm searching for something else. Then I read it's description, and I do it a couple of times so that I remember the basic mechanics. Then, whenever I have a deck in my hands, I play around it, and I "do" that sleight a couple of times. After some time that sleight starts to become a natural movement for my hands. Then I read again that description, and I alter my handling to more correct one. Whenever I encounter a mirror, I do that sleight a couple of times, checking where it flashes etc. I return to description couple of times.
There are exeptions, I have practised some sleights very disciplinely. (is that a word?). At some point I start to practise that sleight in public. I deal every card in a card game from bottom, for example.

When I have sleights down for some routine, I start to do that routine, and think about my patter. I don't script anything yet, I just think about possibilities.

Then I perform it on some gig without a real patter many times, with different wordings. I look how it plays out, and then I build my script around that.
 
Mar 25, 2008
225
0
Arkansas
Uh oh. This is one of my favorite things to think about. And talk about.

I want to post a lot about this, so I'll break it up into lots of little posts over a few days.

First, I've looked at how lots of athletes, vocalists, actors, and other performers rehearse.

Andre Agassi, when he was a boy, could hit the ball harder than his coach had ever seen a kid hit a tennis ball. They concentrated on power. Young Andre focused on hitting the ball as hard and fast as possible, and slowly worked on control/finesse. I find this strategy works best for me with routines that require a certain pace. I rehearse keeping the pace right regardless of how clean the moves are. The finesse will come as I master the speed. For example... the Jones Change. The cards rarely separate now but at first.... holy crud. They were everywhere.

Most actors will work on individual scenes first, then begin linking them together into a whole and adjusting the work for consistency. I find this approach works best for me with multi phase effects. For example... card manipulation for stage. I learned each individual piece, then linked them together for an entire routine adjusting pace and length.

Ballet dancers are the opposite of Agassi. They focus on technique and finesse endlessly. Strength and endurance build naturally as the controlled movements are rehearsed for hours. I use this strategy when I'm practicing something that I want to look effortless. I find that I use this often for coin work.

Just a few thoughts. I'll share my whole practice schedule later.
 
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