I realized recently that I'm about to reach the 40 year mark on being, more or less, a coin magician. Along with feeling really old, the notion also made me start to think about what I have, (or think I have), learned over all those years. What snippets of wisdom do I possess today, that I didn't have back when I was a young, 14 year old excitedly performing at Boy Scout Banquets, Birthday parties and Church Functions?

Today, I don't perform professionally on a regular basis. My chosen profession is as an artist/writer for Disney, drawing their "classic" characters. I also teach basic guitar classes for a dozen students on a weekly basis. The coin magic I do, I do for me, because I enjoy it, for friends and family.

But, probably, my skills with drawing, guitar and coin magic are about at the same level. I make my living via drawing more because of my personality, which tends to be introverted and introspective, rather than because of a lack of physical talent when it comes to magic. I don't have that natural, outgoing gift of charisma so vital to a magician, and frankly, I have always gotten freaked out before large shows, no matter how much I practice and am sure of the material. As a young man, I was paid for hundreds and hundreds of performances, but I never really was able to have more fun during a show than nervous tension before it, and this probably more than any other thing resulted in my livleyhood being what it is.

That said, I've never stopped doing coin magic. I enjoy the technical practice. I like polishing and perfecting the basic skills, and I think after all these years, I've got a pretty solid handle on just what it is a person needs to do, to become an accomplished coin handler.

Coin magic isn't really about the routines. Routines are the stories that the audience sees, but they are composed of basic elements which are the really the more important aspects.

In music, you teach kids various chords, and these are a lot like the basic holds or palms in coin magic. Everyone tends to think, when they first start guitar or magic, that learning the chords or palms are the key to success...but that is only partly true too.

It can take years to develop a good CP, but that's only the starting point for a magician to be able to really HANDLE coins. The CP is stationary. The most important ability for an advanced magician, is to be able to move a coin or coins, quickly, quietly, and undetectably, from one palm or "stationary placement" to another.

That's my first contribution to you today, my observation. It's what you do in between, that needs the most work.

When a new musician is learning chords, the same thing applies. it isn't the chord itself that is difficult, it's moving from C to G, or EM to AM. It's the unleashing of the one position, and moving smoothly to the next, that is the real stumper.

For this reason, I have come to believe that the most important single handling "moment", if you will, is what David Roth calls the "Fingertip Rest" position.

It is really the "Fingertip Rest" that is the center of the coin magician's universe. It is this transitory position that we move to from the majority of other positions in route to some other destination. It is this practice, comfortably moving amongst the classic holds, using the FR in route, that is the real key to becoming an accompished coin user.

This sounds simple maybe, and not nearly as much fun as contemplating a Matrix or other advanced routine. But, as all advanced artists in all fields know...it's all in the basics.

And that's my second big point for today.

No matter how advanced you are, whether your T. Nelson Downs or David Roth, the secret to keeping magically fit is in continuing to practice the basics, day in and out.

It's much easier to do this with coin magic, than just about any other artistic endeavor- which is my third observation for today.

You needn't haul around a baby grand piano to practice. You can practice coin magic walking down the street, or in the mall, or the coffee shop without anyone even knowing your doing it. You can do it in the car much more safely than being on a cell phone.

The simple act of carrying around a palmed coin or two is exceedingly excellent coin magic practice. Doing this while driving isn't particularly dangerous, as long as you arent dumb enough to try to retrieve a coin you drop while draving. Park first!

I probably practice 1 to 2 hours a day. I use a mirror only for fine tuning, or for working on some new routine.

What Im getting at is this. For the most important, basic, coin handling practice, time is no excuse. Everyone spends a certain part of their day walking around from place to place, or sitting somewhere waiting. Watching tv is also the perfect time for taking two coins and marching them through various basic holds via FR. It takes no setup, and after a while, it takes no concentration. Things like an excellent CP are just a matter of time and practice, and this practice, for a coin magician, does not have to intrude onto your schedule, at all.

Which is an absolute blessing when compared to every other hobby that requires practice.

These foundations, MOVING between CP to FP, from EG to BP, these are the things that will make handing of coins in larger, complex routines seem second nature. There is no substitute for this sort of extensive practice, and after a lot of years of handling these silver round clinking things, I can attest that this basic sort of approach really gives one more "magical hands". You appear more graceful handing coins, and all routines become easier to learn. You can add more coins into the mix as you progress, so that you are eventualy shuffling around a group of coins in silence.

Once your hands have become fixed with the memory of being able to move naturally from one position to another without attention, all things become easier. You can concentrate on the individual order of parts of a new routine, with your hands already knowing the basic movements. That's the differenced between an advanced worker, and a novice, and it's just practice.

I hope my thread helps someone. I don't often post threads- I try to have a good reason to do so. I guess what I'm offering here is more of a "philosophy" on handling coins, which is the sort of thing you start to take notice of, after a lot of years of working with coins.

Thanks for the post Hare.

Sometimes the gift of coin magic is passing on your experiences with it. You my friend are quite articulate about the finer points of it all that you have encountered. I can tell you are deeply thinking as to it and the illustrator ability you have in you might just be coming through more in your thoughts and words about it rather than just in presentation. There is a lot of good things in your thoughts about this stuff, I can feel the flow of motion/animation and splashes of vivid color and storytelling...Perhaps you hold some powerful magic in your hands that's to be more solidly presented through your mind, maybe then another door opens back to your hands, and then another... Hmmmmmmmm.

I love hearing personal experiences from people who have been doing magic for some time, as you have. Heck, its even interesting to hear tales from those starting out as well. I started a thread back in December where I was hoping for little snippets of advice that people have found important over the years. Reading this thread is awesome as it relates to that. So thanks for instilling some of your wisdom that you have gained over the years. I'll have to come back and read it again to really let the info sink in.

When reading or posting here, I often feel quite guilty. When I read, I feel a bit inadequate at not contributing more. On the other hand, when I do decide to post, I find myself thinking about how much more experianced a lot of the working magicians are, and how guys like MB really put it out for everyone to see with his cool videos.

It's one thing to talk about abstractions, and another to put your money and name where your mouth is, and post a video where everyone can judge what you do.

My wife owns a neat little Flip camera. Maybe I will take some time out, and make a little movie or two to post for people to see, so I don't feel quite so safe and theoretical. I would enjoy having you guys look at my work, and I know no one here has seen anything by me!

I would love to see that. I love to learn from people and know others would love it too. It's nice to see guys like MB always willing to take the time to help anyone out. MB has gone out of their way to help me a ton. I posted a video here and got some great constructive criticism. Everyone here really helped me out.

Thanks for your post, I will be glad to see some of your coin magic, do you have any videos in youtube? I am curious, how 40 years of coin magic should look?

Thanks Hare, but my stuff wasn't always so "cool."

I used to drop coins all over the place and lost quite a few them at home and in the streets. Your points about practice are very important and I have often times remarked about the same things. You can absolutely practice anywhere, anytime and I've done it. I was on a panel this weeking discussing some heady stuff with some really heady folks and an audience and all the while during it I was rotating 2 coins from from one position to another and then another and then over again and again. It's just what I do.

It is my practice to practice pretty much anytime my hands aren't too busy. I first got the notion for all this from my friend and fellow magician Mano Tejeda here in NYC years ago now. He actually gave me a video of his daily routine of going through the sleights. Eventually, I developed my own rhythm and even moves to run through repeatedly anytime I could. I still do it to this day as a warm-up to just warm up. I might play with my coins for hours, I don't really know. But I know I've been doing it as I go to work each day, on the bus, through the subways, waiting on the platform, waiting to cross a street, while crossing a street, with my hands out or sometimes even in pocket on a cold day. I better developed my coin roll while walking and on bumpy buses to and from work. My confidence grew until I'd risk walking over sidewalk grates while coin rolling. Lost a few coins but not many and then after a good while of building up technique and confidence...not any. And this is all while walking through crowded streets and looking forward and looking out.

I often think sometimes when I see people doing absolutely nothing with their hands besides all the feverish text messaging on their phones, do they even know how creative and flexible the hands are and can be made to be...They do whatever you tell them if you show them first and practice them a bit...They are very smart and most time come to remember every move you teach them well. A study of what the hands can actually do is amazing in itself. As to coin magic, man they make it all happen through your mind. This is the greatest wizardry of all. We take our hands for granted but they are an amazing tool in the play of magic. I and many others, are living proof of what practice can do for you, pretty much at any time you decide to do it. Actually it is coin magic that I think taught me more about confidence than perhaps anything else. I have seen myself just get better at whatever I practice long enough and put your mind to it. Of course good practice is better than any old practice or practicing wrong but beyond that, it's great to practice until practice is just something you do, sorta like a self-oiling machine...All the rest of it comes from there. You really don't know what you can find in yourself until you dig a little and we all have the power to do that as all power is really from within.

Good talk here and look forward to seeing some of your work Hare and hearing more from Chris W on things.

I always try to practice whether in front of the TV or driving (not dangerously though). I practice getting into certain palms or tranferring coins as I see fit. Then I'll try routines in general. As a teacher, I have to watch the hallways between bells. Kids always walk by me and ask about the coin in my hand because I always have one. Its kind of funny to them and me!

On another note, I sometimes feel that I need to concentrate more on certain things and not just got about it without thinking. At times, I will sit down with no distractions and go through a routine. Or practice a 3fly in front of the mirror. Do you guys seem to do more in front of a TV or without distraction?

I have so much learning to do, but hopefully can get some tips from all your guys!

Good insights Hare. I love to practice while driving (makes the wife go bonkers) with plenty of extra coins just in case.
We are fortunate to be able to practice anytime, anywheree, unlike other areas of slight of hand.

Sure, distractions are great unless you're just learning a new move or sequence. It helps it to become second nature, - no thought required.
You will find plenty of distractions in performance. Total preparation is a good cure for stage fright.
Gotta keep moving. That dexterity doesn't happen by itself.

Thank you for that post Hare. Very well said!

Jim

Thanks for the insight on the fingertip rest, Hare.

Excellent advice!

Kind of what my music teacher told me a lot: "The music lies between the notes." And to get some sort of analogy with piano playing: How to get into a move - How to strike the key of the piano; How to get out of it - How to lift the finger from the key.



What true words MB! Sometimes I feel sorry for these people.
To get a good cp just hold coins in cp all day long. As a lot of people (MB, Hare, Ammar...) preach. I do it and it helps me tremendously to get a good cp. For some variation one can add some other moves and create sort of a flurry. F.e. r.H. coin roll, get coin into ringfinger curl palm, produce coin at fingertips, spin coin between first and second finger, go into downs palm, produce coin, coin roll, go in cp, muscle pass into left hand into cp, immediately turn over left hand and hold coin in cp, drop into fingerpalm...etc.
However some people looked at me as if I were a fool or crazy type.

But from time to time practice with you head "on", especially on new sleights to avoid getting any bad habits, like windows in fingerpalm or suspicious thumb movement when going into cp. Even if a sleight is second nature, your movement may seem to be completely natural to yourself but in fact is totally unnatural. So make your mirror a friend or even better have someone to look at you and judge.


Enjoyed reading the posts! Thank you all.

Great post, Hare. Thanks for sharing your distilled wisdom.

Like MB says, the hands are amazing tools. It takes awhile to train them for new tasks, but eventually they seem to get ahead of the brain itself. You don't really think about what they're "supposed" to do while typing after awhile, for example. Your brain just thinks of the letters, and the hands do the rest as if by magic.

And congratulations, Hare, on developing your hands in such divergent arts. Music, drawing, magic - the study of each can fill a lifetime.

Hare, your post has really struck a chord with me - no pun intended - in your analogy of movement between guitar fingerings as the key rather than the fingerings themselves, which I know to be absolutely true. Very helpful to me to gain better perspective in my progress with coins. I appreciate the post and hope to see your videos, thanks for offering your thoughts.

Great post. I needed to read something like this because I have been slacking a little on my practice time. There is no reason to, I can practice anywhere, any time. That is why I carry a pair of half dollars all the time! But sometimes, I have to admit, I waste the opportunity to practice. Thanks Hare, I mean it.

Respects,
Shamsiel

Practice anywhere: with coins it's natural. I love your analogies to magic and music: sleights and chords. Very accurate. Knowing the chords is only the first part. It's how you put them into play that creates real music - or magic.

I don't think you're practicing enough...

Good comparison, yeah. Anyone can learn a d chord, but making music is a whole different thing. Cat Stevens did a lot with that chord.
And coin sleights don't do you much good until you turn them into magic.