I have a two part question about magic tricks. . .
How does one learn high end magic tricks(not simple card tricks and rabbit in the hat variety)? Those that do seem to have high paying carrers. Most magic tricks have been around for centuries, but a relative few know how to do them. So how do you get someone to show it to you?
You always see on tv shows like “Psycic Scams Exposed!” were they show you step by step the tricks of fortune tellers and the like. You never see a similar show about magic tricks. Why are magic tricks sacred but fortune telling is not?
In the old days, as I understand it, magicians actually had apprentices in the same way that other tradesmen had apprentices. They studied the craft under the watchful eye of the practitioner until they were ready to begin their own business. Nowadays, I doubt that system would work. Instead, you can just go and take classes to learn the basics. Even the most advanced tricks are available for a price. Levitating is about $19.95.
You have to start at the bottom, sport. If you can’t learn to palm a card, what makes you think you can change a woman into a tiger? Learning the basics teaches you showmanship, concealment mannerisms, misdirection on a small scale, and other skills you need to pull off the big stuff.
You must’ve missed the numerous “Breaking The Magicians’ Code” specials on Fox. Anyway, such exposés do happen, but not often, because of the fundamental difference between magicians and “psychics”: psychics claim to be the real deal, while magicians don’t. Everyone knows that magic is fake; the appreciation comes from being fooled, not from witnessing a miracle.
“But they’re both doing it to make money!” True, but magicians don’t make any promises, the way psychics do. You’re paying to see a performance not unlike a ballet, not to actually communicate with the spirits.
Penn and Teller have revealed some magic secrets at times, such as their infamous “cups and balls” routine, done once normally and once with clear plastic cups so that you can see how it’s done. The thing is, the second time through, they move so fast that, even though you see everything, you can’t begin to fathom it.
Apprenticeship is one way. Going to a magic store is another. Buying a book is a third. Most high-end magic isn’t the kind of thing that you can buy, though. It’s a result of practice, practice, practice. You can spend years learning how to palm objects, do false deals, force cards, lifts, hand tricks with coins, etc.
When you have those fundamentals down, you can combine them to produce some truly astounding feats. Most high-end magic, even that with additional gimmicks is going to utilize those talents, and you’ll have a tough time performing it if you lack the requisite skills.
2. Magicians are entertainers. Willing suspension of disbeleif aside, they make no claims to supernatural powers, and use their talents for entertainment, not to scam gullible folks out of money.
I’ve seen plenty of shows on magic tricks. TLC and Discovery often have shows on the history of magic where they describe how a lot of the tricks are done. A few years ago FOX had “Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed” parts I, II, and III
Have to disagree with you on this one Scylla. When I was performing for a living (juggling) I worked with lots of magicians. To a man, they all felt that close-up magic (cards, coins, etc.) was the hardest of all in terms of skills.
“Stage illusions” on the other hand (levitation, etc.) they often scoffed at because mostly you just had to invest in the equipment for it.
I’ve observed many of those illusions from backstage, and been very disapointed at how they worked. Lots of them require little or no skill at all. The showmanship aspect of them is very important, and the environmental conditions of the performing area can also be a big factor. But to perform them, one need not sit and practice with coins and such every day, which good close up magicians work on constantly.
Although I’ve never bought an illusion, small or large, I’ve never met a prop builder who wouldn’t sell you something expensive! However, it would probably be a foolish investment if one didn’t have the experience to make such an illusion pay off.
I was thinking more in terms of David Copperfield’s flying which is ever bit as much showmanship and skill as it is heavy machinery (one of the few “big” illusions he does that I give him credit for.)
Some of Penn & Teller’s big tricks actually entail several smaller more common ones stuck together.
Even the big stagecraft type illusions often require the fundamental skills of misdirection, perfect timing, and the occasional slight of hand.
On the other hand, the way David Copperfield makes things like the Statue of Liberty, a tank, or an elephant disapear could be done every bit as well by a 3 year old.
A relatively effective barrier to entry is set by the cost of those books. You can buy a lot of the basics at any bookstore (The Royal Road to Card Magic is probably the best 101 text), but most of the “high-end” magic books are hard to find, since they’re put out by micro-presses and sold only through magic shops, and not cheap.
$40-50 is not unusual for the better, more nicely-bound books. I just paid $28.50 for a comb-bound, xeroxed, 80-page set of lecture notes. (Paul Cummins’s “…From a Shuffled Deck in Use”, for the initiated. Reviews upon request, after it arrives.)
What’s more, the layman reading these books would find them excruciatingly dull expositions on the most minute finger movements. Most people have figured out that the methods behind the magic simply aren’t that interesting. Knowing how an Elmsley count works doesn’t make “Twisting the Aces” any more entertaining.
Dr. J
(PS: I may start a thread for SDMB magicians in IMHO…)