Understanding Magic

There are a couple of principles to be considered when learning how to do magic. The first is to never let the audience know what you are going to do before you do it. If you do, the chances of the audience working out how you do the trick increase, as the spectators, knowing what to expect, can more easily arrive at the true method of bringing about the result. The next principle follows naturally, that is, you must never perform the same trick twice in the same session.

Magic tricks can astonish and bewilder people, they can entertain a large number of people or just a single person and can be done in close proximity or with the aid of a large stage at a certain distance from its audience.

There are different types of magic tricks that can be performed, here are some of the different types that magicians try to perform and master, if you are learning how to do magic then you should understand what each one is:

Stage Magic- Stage magic is probably the most traditional and is still very popular, it generally refers to magic being performed to a large number of spectators and the magician usually uses props to perform his illusions.

Street Magic- Street magic has become very popular and there are now some very famous performers of this type of magic. As the name suggests it is usually performed in the street and at very close proximity to the audience. Any props used need to be small and easy to conceal. A good street magician needs complete mastery of his tricks due to the close scrutiny of those watching.

Mentalism- This form of magic is when the magician tries to create the impression that he possesses special powers to read thoughts, predict events or control the minds of others. These feats can be done with a large or solitary audience, on a stage or close-up, Derren Brown is a master of this type of trick.

Performers also have different types of tricks they can perform, some of them are:

Production- This means producing something out of nothing, like pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

Vanishing- This is the opposite of production, the performer makes something disappear. It could be making a coin disappear or on a bigger stage even an elephant.

Teleportation - This means moving something from one place to another. A ring from a volunteer can suddenly be found inside a pocket of another person, the magician enters a box and reappears at the back of the stage.

Levitation - Here the magician uses his powers to seemingly defy gravity. It could be himself or an object that magically floats above the ground or table.

Prediction- Prediction is when the performer correctly knows the outcome of future events or guesses what is on the mind of a volunteer. This would come under mentalism and leaves audiences astounded.

Restoration- This is when the magician tears or breaks something and then magically puts it back together. It could be cutting a rope, tearing a card or smashing a watch, at the end they are all back in one piece.

Learning how to do magic takes time and top magician spend many hours practising. There are some tricks that can be quickly mastered and you can learn these first before gradually increasing the complexity as your confidence grows.

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