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adrianbent Loyal user 210 Posts |
Hi guys, I'm looking for some inspiration. I've been practicing the same 3 card routine for what seems like forever now: Cannibal Cards, That's It and Ambitious Card (from EZTMCM). I've been keeping count, and I've dress rehearsed each of these 52 times now - I mean sleights, patter, presentation... the whole thing. 52 times. My goal is to get to 100 before I consider if I'm ready to show anyone. The problem is that its driving me crazy, and I don't feel like I'm getting any better, and its frustrating me because I'll still goofing up an Ascanio spread or a Braue addition every so often. It seems like I'm goofing up more now than I did a while back... do I need a change or something? I was hoping to get better, not worse. I know the patters to the routines like the back of my hand. I can patter and think of other things at the same time while I'm doing the routines. Its just getting really hard on the head. Any advice?
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Chessmann Inner circle 4242 Posts |
Yes! I have advice, and I know where you are coming from. With me it wasn't just a handful of tricks, it was anything that required any sort of move or sleight. I am now 41, and am JUST NOW beginning to see fruit from my practice!
1) Make sure you practice s-l-o-w-l-y. Practicing fast did me absolutely no good. I could practice something 100 times, but all I was doing was practing poor moves because I wasn't taking the time to get each facet down slowly and correctly. ONLY THEN do you begin to speed up. 2) Break up each sleitht, pass or move into sections, slowly going from one section to the other. Classic example for me was a sponge ball retention vanish and coin vanish. Just couldn't get them down! But I started breaking it down into "parts" and would actually count in my head as I slowly went from one part of the sleight to the next. Very "unmagical", but it nailed down my technique. 3) Remember that it is slow and boring at first, but the results will be much better and longer lasting. Hope this helps. Mark
My ex-cat was named "Muffin". "Vomit" would be a better name for her. AKA "The Evil Ball of Fur".
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silent shadow Loyal user United Kingdom 231 Posts |
Adrianbent , I bought Ammar's dvd this week , and cannibal is the my first and favourite trick I've been learning out of it , hoho how I laughed watching Ammar, I do hope I can do such a good show as he did , it's a fun trick , I've already expanded the patter a bit ...
I'll pm my ascanio spread method , I got it down faster than I thought possible due to my own lucky touch , as for the Braue addition I'm still at it . If you would like to exchange ETMCM idea's sometime , I would be happy , they are great routines in there. Best of luck with it. Jason.
Magic or just an illusion? it's a free choice .... isn't it?
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adrianbent Loyal user 210 Posts |
Thanks a million for your help and advice guys!
All the best to you. Cheers, Adrian. |
thumbslinger Elite user This is a good number: 458 Posts |
Adrian-
Also, take a break. Work on some new stuff with coins or ropes just to get your mind out of the 'card rut' and just as you find something new in coins or whatever, the exitement of the new will re-energize the practice routine and help. I've lately been reading a couple of books at a time and using note cards to re-write effects I like. This has lead me to a nice stack of different effects which, when reviewing I know I'm going to like as I wrote them down in the first place! This is gives me a nice smattering of different things to 'take a break with' yet still work on similar moves and such. Good luck-
Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed and Tommy Emmanuel are all you need to study to learn to play guitar.
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rden New user Sugar Land, Texas 75 Posts |
I agree with the "take a break" advice. I've found, at least with juggling, that sometimes a few days away results in significant progress when I return. I guess my mind is working even though my hands aren't. I haven't noticed the same thing with magic yet, but I am still pretty new and taking things quite slowly. I expect that once I add some more complexity a similar pattern will emerge.
Good luck with your next 48 practice sessions! |
TheHungryMagician Regular user 144 Posts |
I suggest practicing about 5 times, seeing what's wrong, then sleeping on it. Also, you could find a "dummie", maybe your family or something, and it won't seem as boring. In return, show the "dummie" all the tricks you've mastered. (The "dummie" could be a fellow magician; that way you won't feel like you let them have a secret if you mess up)
I'm fairly new to magic, so my tricks are short and sweet, but I have the same problem when practicing routines. Seeya TheHungryMagician
Forever starving,
Hungry |
Chessmann Inner circle 4242 Posts |
Also, try videoing yourself. Mirrors are great, but you will be performing without one and need to get used to it. Videoing will sometimes reveal things you never thought about.
My ex-cat was named "Muffin". "Vomit" would be a better name for her. AKA "The Evil Ball of Fur".
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Peter Marucci Inner circle 5389 Posts |
Take a break! Take a breath!
Practice is fine but you can over-practice, too. Practice does NOT make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect. So, if you are aware of problems in your practice sessions, then it isn't perfect and you are simply reinforcing mistakes over and over. Step back, look at the big picture, and attack the problem at a later date and with confidence! Eventually you will see the fruits of your labor, even as Chessman says. |
lonewolf New user 30 Posts |
Hi Adrian,
Nice to see a familiar face from penguin haha. Although I've quit a couple of months ago thanks to the cool forum. I learn and practised my tricks this way. 1. Learn the workings of the trick from the dvd/book. 2. Memorize the flow of the trick, which sleights to use when. 3. Practise the sleights involved exclusively until I can execute them well (perfection is impossible...takes years...sigh). 4. Go through the effect again this time just a silent rehearsal of the routining. 5. Step 4 repeated again and again until whole routine is good and no flash. 6. Add in the patter with the technique. I do all of those repeatedly. Takes weeks to months before I am confident enough to perform. Even that I have a system of audience to perform to before I do it in the real world to strangers. rdgs, Isac PS: Adrian, Jason. I'm a Ammar fan too. Have been working with his ETMCM for the past 6 months. They have been most valuable to me. We could exchange pointers! Now moving on to Malone. |
dgcuff Regular user Canada 191 Posts |
I have to say that I find this thread very exciting and nourishing. Thanks for starting it, Adrian, and thanks to all for their replies!
I formerly ran a site of links to help Canadian magicians, magicinfo.ca, but I retired it in 2022.
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N14 New user Netherlands 78 Posts |
Man it's a while ago that I wrote at the magic Café...
I read some good advise in this thread. There isn't a lot to ad to that. I can just write down how I spend my hours practicing.. First you should know that, in my live, I never had an hobby that I stayd intrested in for more than 2 years. Magic made the difference. The nice thing of magic is that it's so big. I mean, you can do card magic for a few months, and when you get stuck, you can switch to coins, cigarettes, ropes, etc. etc. That's the main reason I'm still doing it. So, switch to something else for a little while and later get back to those tricks you're doing now. I show most of my tricks to my wife (not all the tricks, because I want to keep some secrets to myself), before they are perfect. This way she can point out my weak points (and strong points). That way I know where to focus on. When you're doing the same thing over and over again you might get "blind". You don't notice that you're makeing progress. It's the same as that you don't see your children growing up. But when you meet someone, you haven't seen for a year, they'll allways mention: "man, your childeren, thay really became big" If you don't want to show someone before you mastered the trick, than taping is a good sulution. Make sure to keep your tapes for a while, So you can look back and see the improvements. There is one more point I would like to mention. There is nothing more frustrating than practicing something for 100 times, and when you finally perform it, the spectator does just that one thing you weren't prepared for. What I mean is, there are a lot of things you can not learn when practicing in your room. There is a lot to learn when you perform. In your performences (one-on-one, small groups, stage etc it doesn't matter what you do) you learn how the people behave on your magic, you find out what wether, light and noice can do to the effect. Just don't wait to long. After practice there's still a lot to learn (don't mean to demotivate you). And it would be a petty to have to start all over agein. When your pretty sure they wont find out how it's done, and you know your lines etc., just go for it and feel good about the reactions you'll get.... |
juton New user Yorkshire 43 Posts |
I would give the same advice as Peter above. Take a break try something else for a while then go back to it. I have come across this many times while practicing, when I first started out I was practicing the charlier cut for weeks and couldn't get it right. I left it for a few days and tried it again then it all of a sudden came to me. Know I wonder what all the fuss was about.
Regards Juton |
TheChris New user Iowa City, IA 10 Posts |
I agree. I realize I'm pretty knew to all of this as well but I've found changing helps. I'll work on smoothing out my snap change but then I may get frustrated so I'll work just with coins or a different card trick or I've found that smoothing out my forces is a good relief.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion,
It is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, The hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning, It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. |
jsmagus New user 71 Posts |
I find for myself that when I set out to learn a new slieght, I am really excited about it. With more and more practice, excitement turns to frustration. So, now I know the perfect time to stop practicing.....while I still WANT to! Leave yourself wanting more, and take a break and think about the slieght and resist the urge to "try it again" for at least a couple of hours.
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Reis O'Brien Inner circle Seattle, WA 2467 Posts |
Perhaps you're too concerned with how much you practice than whether your practicing effectively?
Remember in high school, when you had a history test coming up, but the book was so boring that you were dozing off every paragraph? So you'd read the chapter over and over and hope that it just somehow sinks in? Then you take the test the next day and totally flunk it. Then you say to yourself, "I can't believe this! I read that chapter a gazillion times!" Repetition doesn't always drive home the lesson. maybe it's time for you to take a deep breath and think about what your doing that isn't sitting well with you. Check every little move. Ask yourself, "Am I happy with this?" You may discover something that you didn't even realize you were doing. |
TheCaffeinator Regular user Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada 126 Posts |
That's some great advice from chessman. I second it wholeheartedly! Practice slowly, especially since there's a certain amount of speeding up which happens almost naturally when performing. Of course, on its own, practicing slowly is not necessarily going to solve your frustration. You may be "overpracticing," which thumbslinger and Peter have addressed well: Get something else to work on for a bit and set that routine aside, whether it's some new tech, a new effect or two, or a whole other routine. I've been hammering away at a four-effect impromptu card routine, but I'm also working on an ace routine and spending time on each. I've also got some coin and rope stuff going on; having something to move to that doesn't involve cards at all just might help.
Also, grab a piece of paper and jot down a list of the specific things that, in your mind, are going wrong. Try addressing these things separately from your practice of the entire routine. If the problem is a sleight like the Ascanio, stop doing the routine for a while and just do the spread. I'm currently taking a page from my martial arts study and trying to do each of the sleights I'm currently studying 1000 times. Take your goal of doing your routine 100 times and also apply it to each of your sleights outside of the context of your routine. |
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
There is a HUGE difference between repeating a behavior and practicing. Repeating sets habits. Practicing allows you to explore all the nuances of a thing till you have a good and reliable sense of it.
It's not about repetition. It's all about getting it right then making that your habit. Then exploring all the places things can go wrong and finding ways to cope.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
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