Practice Makes Perfect.

[strudles]

We've all seen it before. You scour Youtube and you come across a very poorly performed effect. You try to give the "aspiring" magician advice, but to no avail. He insists that the breaks the size of his thumb and his three-second long pass are satisfactory, and refuses to improve. This practice is now much more common to see due to the fact that any idiot with a camera can submit something to youtube, and I loathe the way this tarnishes our art.
It seems to me that often the people who obviously need to practice more are the ones who flock to show (or even force upon) their magic to everyone else. Obviously it is very common that the people who are complacent enough to perform a half-ready trick for someone are also the ones cocky enough to show anyone (willing or unwilling) their magic. Being somewhat of a perfectionist as well as an incredibly shy person myself, this was not the case for me. I don't think I showed anyone any magic that wasn't self-working until I was nine months in to the art, and was confident that the tricks I was executing would work every time without fail and that my patter was presented in a sophisticated manner that doesn't leave spectators unsatisfied. If one practices until an effect is flawless, he can take pride in how he can execute an effect very well without fail, and he will notice an immense change in reaction garnered by his strive for perfection. Once perfection is sought after with zeal, only then will a magician realize the even greater joy he garners from the reactions he receives. If you have practiced sufficiently, people will applaud you for it, and you will be constantly fueled by a need to get even better, to greater strengthen the effect your magic has on people.
Magic is an art, but it is an art treated like no other. If one dislikes a song, they believe that the artist is not for them. If someone hates a painting, they keep note that the artist is not to their taste. If a spectator does not like a magician, however, it reflects poorly on our art form as a whole, as well as the person forcing a poor presentation upon them. When performed flawlessly, our art is a beautiful thing. When performed ill-prepared, it leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those who were pretending to be interested while watching you set up your double lift right as they stare at the deck.
This thread was not meant to be a rant, but an attempt to convince at least one person that practice is imperative in order to make a good impression of our art. This includes patter as well as at least good, if not great or flawless, execution of the sleights you perform. Any unprepared trick may even leave a lasting impression upon a spectator about how magic is received (however small it may seem it the grand scheme of things). Remember that you could quit magic at any moment, but the impressions you leave from your performances could remain for much, much longer (whether they be good or bad). Not only this, but your reactions will thank you for your effort.

"Ars longa, vita brevis"

-Peter H

 

[Randy]

Do you want to know how to make your life much easier and happier?

Ignore youtube magicians completely and just focus on yourself.

 

[strudles]

Perhaps, but too often do I see people do this. In fact, when I perform for people, they assume I'm just like "Uncle Jim" who showed them a 21 card trick. I suppose since the bar is set so low, they are really blown away by the magic, but the fact that most people expect amateur magicians to be mediocre is a problem.

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Perhaps, but too often do I see people do this. In fact, when I perform for people, they assume I'm just like "Uncle Jim" who showed them a 21 card trick. I suppose since the bar is set so low, they are really blown away by the magic, but the fact that most people expect amateur magicians to be mediocre is a problem.

Actually, most people expect pretty much any magician to be mediocre unless they've heard of you from TV or Vegas. Know why? Most magicians are pretty mediocre.

There are reasons for this. The main one being that many people who get into magic do so as a way to avoid having to develop a personality. Someone fairly well known in our world once said, "I didn't have to be shy any more. I always had those three words: Pick a card." This turns into the person who foists his magic onto everyone that happens to come within range. They become a cliche.

The other problem is that too many people think they are ready long before they are. Either due to excitement in learning something new or desire for attention - whatever. These are the people who fumble through tricks, stuttering the whole time because they don't have a script. Thanks to the ease of putting a video up on YouTube, they don't even need to suffer the bored looks from the audience. They can simply put it out there and wait for the world to bask in the glow of their very existence.

Further - many people don't know how to practice properly or what it means for a piece to be ready for performance. They think if they can pull the sleight off once every five times it's fine. Jim down at the pub thought it were amazing! Wait, what do I do next? Hold on, let me start over.

Those people will never go away. There will always be people who don't actually care enough yet. But then, there will also always be those people who do care and do develop beyond those initial steps. These are the people who develop a tight performance style with solid scripting and really become entertaining. The only thing you can really do is focus on getting yourself to that level. Don't slow yourself down worrying about all those others who don't even want to keep developing

 

[strudles]

That's true, people who are fine with how they perform now will never want to improve later. I ought to just work on my own development.

 

[Randy]

What's wrong with them thinking you are uncle Jim? Use that mentality to your advantage. If they don't think you are very skilled than you have a huge advantage here against them. This gives you the opportunity to do a secret move without them even realizing that you can do one. Remember what David Williamson would say "Only give them 40%".

Also the whole "uncle Jim" situation reminds me of a story Dave told at his penguin lecture. When Bill Malone was younger and moved down to FL, he would attend lectures and clubs. During that time he had just got done being under the wings of Ed Marlo. But nobody in FL knew about it. So he would go around performing like your "Uncle Jim" doing the 21 card trick and in doing that he would throw in a bottom or second deal and it would fly right by even the most experienced performers at the club meetings.

So think about that for a min. If they think you are going to be awful, you play it up to the max. Drop cards when your shuffling, shuffle them in a big sloppy mess. Give them the mental image of a clumsy fool. This will give you the chance to pretty much con them out of all their money without them even realizing it.

 

[krab]

Do you want to know how to make your life much easier and happier?

Ignore youtube magicians completely and just focus on yourself.

Reminds me of this quote...

At some point within the past twenty years, Jay asked Dai Vernon-a.k.a. the Professor-how he coped with affronts of this sort, and Vernon replied, "I forced myself not to care."

 

[strudles]

Honestly this has inspired me to create a 21 card effect that has a massive kicker ending or something. I'm not sure how, but it'll take people by surprise considering that everybody seems to know the trick. The problem is making sure they don't run away before the effect is finished...

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Honestly this has inspired me to create a 21 card effect that has a massive kicker ending or something. I'm not sure how, but it'll take people by surprise considering that everybody seems to know the trick. The problem is making sure they don't run away before the effect is finished...

Good luck on that. I've heard of a version of that trick where you do the initial lay out of 21 cards, then jump right to the end and reveal their card, but the guy that's told me about it can't remember how to do it.