Moving Too Fast?

[venom546]

Hello fellow theory 11 fans and possibly members. I have been interested and learning magic tricks since around Christmas. I am fairly new to magic as you can tell but I feel that I am possibly moving too fast. I of course know the basics like the snap change and how to do double lifts and also some fairly beginner color changes. But I learned all that and was decent at it in January and February. Now I have purchased a lot of tricks like all of Zach Mueller's effects and have perfected all of them except for Marbles but that is just too knacky. But I feel that I may be moving too fast. I have learned a lot of tricks and I have perfected them. I have incorporated Victoria into my own little routines. But should I take a step back and take my time on magic? Pretty much all the tricks I know (except marbles) I can perform almost perfectly over and over. Thanks everyone I know this is long too o.o so if you read all of that then internet high five *high fives*

 

[blakehensley]

Because you have practiced the double lift and a few color changes does not mean you have the basics down. At all, actually. You bought some tricks, practiced them a few days or maybe even weeks, but you haven't perfected them either. You can never perform an effect perfectly.

I suggest, and you might not like suggestion, is to get Mark Wilson's Complete Guide to Magic and Royal Road to Card Magic. Books! Books! Yes you have to read, but the material in those books are some of the greatest secrets you can get. Get those books and study them. Even if you only get one of the Royal Road's you will still get good material. I only have eight years of experience, but in those eight years I have learned that all the flashy little card tricks and DVDs will give you the knowledge you need. Sometimes, older is better. Those effects are awesome and the creators of them are great. These books will help your repitoure greatly. You have to make your routines flawless and these will help you.

This is just my opinion. Take it or leave it.

Blake

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Yes, you need to study the foundational material instead of just churning through tricks.

Royal Road to Card Magic, Mark Wilson's Complete Course, Joshua Jay's Magic!, Bobo's Modern Coin Magic, stuff like that will give you a base of skills. What you have now is a hodge podge of random skills which do not even begin to cover the basics.

 

[venom546]

its funny too because ever since I saw Rick Lax's article on perfecting ten tricks, I stopped buying tricks. I would buy tricks every time I had the chance too and try to learn it as soon as possible. Which I know is bad.

 

[Steerpike]

I of course know the basics

No you don't.

like the snap change and how to do double lifts and also some fairly beginner color changes. But I learned all that and was decent at it in January and February. Now I have purchased a lot of tricks like all of Zach Mueller's effects and have perfected all of them except for Marbles but that is just too knacky. But I feel that I may be moving too fast. I have learned a lot of tricks and I have perfected them. I have incorporated Victoria into my own little routines.

Sounds like a whole bunch of stuff that you can't actually make a routine out of.

I know this is long too o.o so if you read all of that then internet high five *high fives*

That wasn't long, it was just disjointed.

That said, your problem is that you have absolutely no foundation and beyond that no focus. You bought a whole bunch of single tricks, but how many fundamental books have you invested in? How many utilities do you actually know and understand how and when to apply? What performance theory do you know, if any? Right now, it sounds to me like you're just buying everything that catches your eye regardless of how useful it may or may not be.

The problem is not that you're going too fast. The problem is that you wandered off the trail to chase shiny objects. You need to focus.

 

[ii3randonmagic]

Never be afraid to start back at step one and work your way back up, I always carry Royal Road with me, in my backpack. I absolutely love it, it is geared towards the beginner but there are some hidden gems in there. I purchased a few of the Jason England and Paul Wilson: Unreal Sessions and one of the effects that I fell in love with was actually straight form the pages of Royal Road, a simple but beautiful routine and sure enough I referenced the book and bingo there it was. I regularly perform it, it's not something that you want to perform to a magician but it is a fantastic little routine. As far as beginner books go I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend: Card College(s), Royal Road, Tarbell and Now you See it, Now you Don't. A few of these such as Tarbell and Now you see it, feature not just card magic but sponge ball, coin, stage and mentalism. Hope this helped!

 

[ChrisWiens]

One small favor, if you please. In the sharing spirit this book is offered, please help me spread the word. If you know a young (or old) magician who would benefit from this collection, please send them to us so they can download it as well. Your tweets and comments will enable Magic in Mind to do what it is intended to do: improve the quality of magic in our industry.

http://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magic-downloads/free-magic-downloads/magic-in-mind/

 

[TylerRouss]

Chris gave an excellent suggestion, and its FREE!!!! I actually just started reading through and annotating magic in mind.. amazing collection of essays.