A Touch of Magic

A magic trick well done is to bring a smile to a face, awe struck wonder to some and happiness all around. There is nothing better than magic to transport us to a fantasy land full of impossible happenings and unattainable outcomes.

We can all try our hand at magic, but those who succeed are the ones who practiced the art of magic relentlessly and continued on to become accomplished performers. As one magician put it once "It is better to master one magic trick well than to know a hundred." Learning magic can be fun and will be a hobby that will accompany you throughout life.

There are many tricks that are easy to master and these are the ones to start with. Even renowned magicians such as David Copperfield, Lance Burton, David Blaine, Chris Angel, Steve Barry and Darren Brown had to start somewhere. The adage ‘practice makes perfect’ is true of magic more than in any other field. Constant practice cannot be stressed enough.

A good place to start is by trying out a simple card trick or a coin trick. These tricks usually involve sleight of hand which needs to be practiced with diligence. It is a good idea to do a little bit of everything on a regular basis as this will make you able to perform more tricks and give you a wider range. The art of performing is as important magic itself. A carefully placed dramatic pause, a joke or well feigned surprise all adds to your magic skills. A little bit of suspense and setting up the trick for maximum effect has to be done artfully. A trick well done is guaranteed to freak out the audience and they will want more of your mad magic. It is the reaction from the crowd that a magician lives for and once you get the taste of a captivated audience there is no turning back.

The test for a successful magic trick is how well it is remembered afterwards. The magic tricks, however simple they were that we saw as children stay with us forever added to the few memories that are clear and indelibly etched in our minds forever. Therefore, a magic trick should always be performed before an audience only after it has been perfected and set with utmost care.

As a magician one of the most important lessons to learn is never to explain a trick and only say ‘it’s just magic.’ This is always accepted without question as deep inside us we all want to be awestruck by magic, a seemingly larger than life force. Once you have mastered a few tricks it is best performed by putting together a variety of tricks such as card tricks, coin tricks, handkerchief tricks and rope tricks. The variety keeps the audience interested and excited. They should not even know what they really saw and should go home still feeling bemused.

The basic rules of magic should be adhered to by all magicians as it is the only way to keep the magical mystery alive. First of all, never reveal the secret. This should be done only in the case of another person who wants to learn magic and never to an audience. For a magic trick to succeed the setting that it is performed in has to be ideally suited for the trick. So the second rule of magic is to perform only under a perfect setting. Thirdly, a trick has to be practiced and perfected before showing off. Practicing has to be as natural as breathing to a magician and this may mean how successful you are or not in the long run. Finally, you have to leave them wanting more. Never overstay your welcome and run the risk of becoming boring. It is true for magic as it is for anyone else in show business.

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