A lot of serious card magicians that I talk to are in a rush to learn too much too soon. They want to learn every sleight possible: first the Classic Pass, then the Dribble Pass, then onto Charlie Miller Cascade Pass before continuing with a Second Deal and a Bottom Deal. All of this in a few months.
I have a different point of view though. I take a single sleight and I work on it for a good few months. This gives me time to explore lots of descriptions on the move and ask lots of magicians for feedback and criticism. Most importantly, it allows me to concentrate and focus my practice sessions better than if I’m trying to learn too much at once.
Then, when I’m ready (normally when I’m getting proficient with the move), I start to fully research tricks that utilise the move and start playing around with my own ideas too. I think of this as the Royal Road to Card Magic approach; learn a move and then learn some applications.
If you’ve got a lifetime in magic ahead of you, I think this will be the best long term approach for learning magic effectively. Slow down, focus, experiment and enjoy. The end result will be an arsenal of effective, perfected moves as opposed to a large repertoire of poorly practiced and ill-used moves.
What will your chosen move for the next few months be?
September 25th, 2008 at 3:03 pm Quote
Been searching for a bottom deal that suits my hands for a year. I finally settled on one, and so I am now practicing that.
It’s really interesting to take moves and break them down, trying to analyze each finger position and muscle tension.
Good post.
-Erik
September 25th, 2008 at 4:40 pm Quote
Very good advice.
And yet, my two cents.
I think there are times that a break from learning a sleight is needed. I decided on a certain double lift, difficult but more direct than my easier double lift. I worked on it for weeks. This was ‘my’ double lift, so I kept at it. After weeks I was very frustrated because I was still hitting only maybe sixty or seventy percent. The frustration drove me back to my safer double lift.
Months later I tried it again, and discovered that (without practicing it) I was suddenly hitting it about ninety percent. I’m working on it again and my percentage is even higher (and I can tell if I’m getting three instead of two cards before I turn them).
I think it’s a balance of patience and persistence.
September 26th, 2008 at 3:11 am Quote
That’s a very tough principle to stick to. Those amongst us who are essentially move monkeys would find this especially hard. The frequency with which new moves are coming out is too overwhelming for a greedy heart. One wants to be able to do all the “hard” moves and show off or feel good about being able to do it as nicely as in the most popular youtube video.
I am afraid that many youngster suffer from the same problem as I do. Even though I recognize it to be a problem I can’t help myself. So I have a set of sleights that I keep working on. When I get bored with one sleight I move on to the next.
October 26th, 2008 at 10:46 am Quote
Couldn’t agree more. I worked for a magic dealer for many years, with all that access to knowledge I eventually burned out and lost interest in magic. However recently I have been going back to basics, really polishing and perfecting every day sleights and it’s far more rewarding!