Many magicians know that the key to making great magic is practice. However it is not as easy, as all that. For some, practicing is drudgery. Practice by nature is repetition. Repetition for many it’s boring. The question becomes how to make it interesting?
First and foremost you want to practice something you really want to learn. If you’re practicing something merely because you must, then the drudgery begins. If the effect or move that you have selected to practice is something that you’re excited about, that you really want to learn, then you have completed the first step toward making practicing interesting.
Next, you don’t have to have long practice periods. There is no need to have an extraordinarily long period that makes you feel weary. It is better to practice a little each day than to practice a large amount one time a week.
I highly recommend practicing in front of the mirror. However it comes with a warning. The reason you’re practicing in front of the mirror is to see what the audience sees. This allows you to find out if the move you are doing is visible to the audience. Some magicians have developed a bad habit of blinking or looking away when they do the move.
Consequently they would never see the move and therefore, they think it was invisible. This trap is easier to fall into than you may think, just be aware of it.
If the type of practicing you’re doing is just practicing
a move, you might want to consider listening to music or watching TV while you
practice the move. Both of these methods promote learning without looking at your
hands. As well as teaching your hands to do what they need to do without your
brain having to think about it. If this method is used and a certain level of
proficiency is achieved, you should always double check by performing in front
of a mirror afterwards.
Lastly, putting together a practice session (a list) that has the
order you going to practice things in, and how much you are going to practice
each item helps a lot. Have your practice session made up of practicing
different things. Possibly different
tricks.
For instance, I had three different tricks to work on,
but I also wanted more work on false shuffles. Now to just practice false
shuffles one after the other is very boring. So I did several false shuffles in
between each of the three tricks. So by the time I had finished a practice
session I had inadvertently also practiced my faults shuffles.
If you have access to video equipment, it is a good idea
to make a video of you performing your act. It is always very educational and
sometimes humbling.
-John
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