The One Thing to Improve Your Magic

[RealityOne]

What is the one thing you can do to move your magic to the next level?

For me, it is taking several routines and finishing the process of making them performance pieces. One of them requires building two props and memorizing the presentation, one requires buying an ordinary item so that I can make the props, one requires memorizing the presentation and perfecting the sleights. The last two (new cups & balls and new linking rings) require designing the phases and sleights, finalizing the presentation and then perfecting the routines.

What are you going to do about it? Be specific and be time bound.

This weekend, I'll build the two props for the first routine and memorize the presentation.

The next weekend, I'll get the ordinary items and assemble the prop for the second routine and start practicing the routine.

The third weekend, I'll perfect the third routine and memorize the presentation.

Keep us informed of your progress so we can hold you to your promises and encourage you.

Will do.

FOR EVERYONE ELSE...

Feel free to post your answers to the above questions and make posts to show your progress -- those can be texts, photos or videos. Let us know how we can help you. Hopefully, this will allow us as a community to move our magic forward.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

I'm currently rebuilding my entire show from the ground up. So there's plenty more than one thing but the one I'm focusing currently is: Memory.

I'm building a memory routine that involves two full decks and a book. I may or may not try to work a Knight's Tour in there, but I'm hesitant about that.

What I need to do to get it to the next level is re-script it to be interesting to people who are not me, and work on the fluidity of the demo. Fluidity will come from simply going through it - which I do for an hour long session each Tuesday and Thursday morning.

Once that's down, it's on to re-writing a few of my existing routines, and creating a few more to flush out an hour long show. I'm focusing on this one section of the show until I get it right, as it's something completely new for me to be doing in a performance so I'm developing a lot of new skills all at once.

 

[Gabriel Z.]

What is the one thing you can do to move your magic to the next level?

For me, it is taking several routines and finishing the process of making them performance pieces. One of them requires building two props and memorizing the presentation, one requires buying an ordinary item so that I can make the props, one requires memorizing the presentation and perfecting the sleights. The last two (new cups & balls and new linking rings) require designing the phases and sleights, finalizing the presentation and then perfecting the routines.

What are you going to do about it? Be specific and be time bound.

This weekend, I'll build the two props for the first routine and memorize the presentation.

The next weekend, I'll get the ordinary items and assemble the prop for the second routine and start practicing the routine.

The third weekend, I'll perfect the third routine and memorize the presentation.

Keep us informed of your progress so we can hold you to your promises and encourage you.

Will do.

FOR EVERYONE ELSE...

Feel free to post your answers to the above questions and make posts to show your progress -- those can be texts, photos or videos. Let us know how we can help you. Hopefully, this will allow us as a community to move our magic forward.

1)If there was one thing I could do to move my magic to the next level would be to double the amount of time I spend with cards.

2)Nothing to be specific about .. Just handle cards more frequently(And do more Up The Ladders).

3)I mean I'm pretty specific in what I want to do so now it's just a matter of doing it. .... I started with the cards particularly my interest in Up The Ladder almost 8 years ago.

Almost 8 years ago:

Sometime this week(Uploaded Today):

Thanks for this post David.... Makes you question if you are really doing your best. I like these kinds of posts.

 

[Scodischarge]

What is the one thing you can do to move your magic to the next level?

Two things right now -- work on a new show (there's three effects I still have to learn the mechanics to) and perform what I can already do.

What are you going to do about it? Be specific and be time bound.

For the latter, I've got this Triumph I haven't gotten round to showing anybody yet ... so I'll be performing that for friends and family next week.
For the former, there's three effects I still have to learn the mechanics to; I'll start today with a swallowing needles variation and perfect it over the course of the week.

Keep us informed of your progress so we can hold you to your promises and encourage you.

Will do.

Thank you for the post, David! It might be just what I needed to get off my arse.

 

[EndersGame]

Really smooth work on Up The Ladder, Gabriel, well done!

For me I've really tried to focus on starting from the ground up, and going back and learning the fundamentals properly. I'm currently studying Card College 1 & 2 for the second time, along with Roberto Giobbi's excellent companion video (Personal Instruction: The Complete Course).

I'm amazed by how much I'd forgotten from the first time around (I've also used other teaching materials in the mean time as well, naturally). Giobbi has so many useful tips about small details, that I've picked up a lot to help me improve in my second time working through this material.

I think that the first time around I built a foundation, but going through it again at this later stage has really helped me polish certain techniques, and add small nuances. When I started card magic 30 years ago, I too quickly moved towards learning tricks. So by working through Card College systematically, even at this much later stage, I'm really improving my card handling and techniques. I'm having a lot of fun doing this too!