Posts Tagged ‘Tricks’

Fun And Easy To Implement Magic Tricks For Kids

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Children and magic go together. It is wonderful to see the look of amazement on a child’s face when they watch a magician perform. But it is also terrific if a child has a desire to learn these skills. There are many easy magic tricks for kids; you can find resources online or even in a library. Learning these illusions will not only be a fun experience, there are actually some educational benefits involved. These easy magic tricks for kids help to develop mental and manual skills.

Improved Memorization

Magicians know that the details of every trick need to be committed to memory. Even the easy magic tricks for kids carry that principle. The child must learn the steps of the trick, the hand motions that go along with the trick and also the conversation to keep the audience’s attention and the level of suspense high.

When kids learn easy magic tricks, they are using that portion of their brain that involves memory. Every trick they learn helps to improve the memory process and can also develop excellent study habits.

Increased Manual Dexterity

The magician’s hands say almost as much as his voice. Easy magic tricks for kids allow them to increase their manual dexterity through the illusive actions of a magic performance. Dealing cards, palming a coin, or swiftly moving props all requires hours of practice. This, in turn, leads to supple and swift movement of the hands.

Hand eye coordination becomes more highly developed. The part of the brain responsible for these movements is activated and enlarged, and once again, the child may benefit in other ways. Easy magic tricks for kids are not only educational but develops the flexibility of their hands.

A More Active Mind

Magic is awesome to watch, but it also creates questions. Everyone in the audience wants to know the secret of the tricks performed. Children already have an active interest in the world and magic helps them to ask questions and seek answers. Easy magic tricks for kids will help children start to understand the more difficult concepts of physics, chemistry and probability.

A Powerful Personality

Magicians are in great demand, not only for their ability to amaze and astound, but also because they have high energy and interesting personalities. When kids learn some easy magic tricks, they gain confidence that allows them to speak before audiences. Their personalities and presence will be sought after because they are people others want to be around.

How to Start?

When selecting magic tricks for kids, keep them easy at the beginning. Choose tricks that are age appropriate and those that they will be able to do with their small hands. If you decide to buy a magic kit, make sure you get one that fits the intelligence level of your child. While you want to start off with easy magic tricks, kids will lose interest if their level of involvement doesn’t match up with their academic ability.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that magic tricks for kids, whether they are easy or more advanced to master, should be fun. Childhood is already a magical time; encourage your child to make the most of it.

Get your Free trick called the “The Mental Card Read” and learn magic trick.

You can do magic like Criss Angel! New easy-to-Follow, step-by-step manual reveals exactly how to do it.

Check out http://magicsecretscenter.blogspot.com for more information and details.

Magic Tricks and the Magical Performance

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

You have to turn the Magic Trick into a Magical Effect. Make your audience believe that you just did the impossible- however simple you know the trick to be, the effect on your audience is what matters. They have to believe that you just produced a card out of thin air, made a coin enter a sealed can of Coke, restored a torn up newspaper (whatever the trick). If your audience don’t believe that you actually did it, you have failed.

One of the best ways is to weave a story around the magic trick. I once saw a famous magician slide a knot off a piece of rope and make it disappear. Very slick. He picked up the rope, tied a knot and then ran his hand down the length of the rope and the knot had vanished. 5 seconds in the middle of an hour long stage show. I forgot about the trick until some years later when a close-up performer did the same trick for me. He took 5 minutes over it; told a story about Harry Potter walking along a river bank and meeting an old sailor who challenged him to a knot tying contest (the effect was somewhat embellished but basically the same trick, and I remembered it). I use it myself now!

The point is- make it interesting rather than clever; better yet, make it amusing if you can. The public know that there is no such thing as Magic (well, OK ? MOST of them know it ? there are a few odd-balls out there!) and so they realise, at the back of their minds, that we are fooling them. No one likes to be fooled but they will forgive you if you amuse them, entertain them, at the same time.

You don’t have to be Tommy Cooper; it would not be a good thing if the entire Magic profession suddenly turned into comedians! Lighten your act; throw in a few jokes at appropriate points, perform some comical effects amid the more “serious” ones. Above all, remember that you are an entertainer; try not to make your act a showcase for your own cleverness. Entertain and amuse your audience and they will want more. Prove to them how clever you are and they will clap but not care if they don’t see you again.

The Magic Trick is just the method. The Magical Effect is the performance of that method in an entertaining and convincing way. If you “do magic tricks”, you are a technician; perform Magical Effects and you are a Magician.

Andy Canning has created a Website for fellow magicians ? amateur or professional ? at http://www.magic.4funandprofit.co.uk where he offers free magic tricks for you to learn and sources for all your magical needs.

Learn How to Do Magic Tricks: Tips for Parents and Kids

Monday, November 16th, 2009

In my magic courses and magic shows, I’m often asked how parents can foster their child’s interest in magic.
Below are a few important steps to help to your kids learn how to do magic tricks and explore the Art of Magic.

1.Encourage your children to learn how to do magic tricks through the local library.

You don’t need to buy the latest magic set or stacks of DVDs on sleight of hand to learn how to do magic. Libraries have a ton of resources on magic, magic history, juggling, and magic specifically for kids. It doesn’t hurt that all this knowledge is FREE! A good beginner?s book in magic will provide the initial foundation for your child to learn several magic tricks and help assess their interest in learning more about the Art of Magic.

2. Remind them to practice both the “moves” and the “story” when learning the magic trick.

Magicians refer to their “story” as patter. Patter is the words used in the presentation of the magic trick. Kids (and adults) new to magic often focus purely on the “moves” rather than the presentation. Reminding the performer to focus on the story as well as the moves will only help your son or daughter become more proficient in their performance. Plus their magic trick will be more entertaining!

If you want to see some magic trick videos performances from a variety of magicians ranging from Harry Houdini, Criss Angel, David Blaine, and others, you can visit our Magic Video section. We don’t tell the secret, but you’ll get a good idea of what magic should look like.

3. Visit your local magic shop

The library has a lot of resources, but a magic shop is often the defacto hot spot for any budding performer. Reputable magic shops are staffed with experienced prestidigitators that can help your child learn how to do magic. Watch out for any magic dealer who will sell an expensive magic prop without considering the skill of the performer.

When purchasing magic, my recommendation is to invest in books before DVDs. Books have a lot of material that can be referred to time and time again. DVDs are good too however, the latest trend in magic is to release one trick per DVD. You want to ensure you get the most magic for your investment. The DVD will also show how the effect will be presented as well as the “secret”. Both books and DVDs are useful learning tools. I prefer these to the standard tricks you find in the glass booths…but those are fun too!

Magic shops will sometime host magic nights where local magicians get together and have a “jam session” demonstrating their latest magical pursuit.

You can also visit Kapoof’s Learn Free Magic Tricks library to learn over 100 different magic tricks for free! We feature several tutorials on coin tricks, card tricks, rope tricks, and yes even Street Magic tricks!

4. Join a local magic assembly, ring, or group.

If you search http://www.magicsam.com or http://www.magician.org, you can find a local Assembly or Ring comprised of local magicians in your metropolitan area. Magic meetings are a fun place to network with other hobbyists, professionals, and newbies interested in the Art of Magic. Most magic organizations are welcoming of new members and are willing to share the secrets of their trade. However, the student must be willing to learn and practice rather than expect all the secrets to be revealed.

5. Attend a magic convention

Magic conventions are another excellent way to meet other magicians, see different magic acts, meet different magic vendors, and purchase new magic. Most conventions are held in a hotel where magicians provide lectures, advice, perform parlor sized shows, and even perform full scale theater shows. Every night magicians gather in the lobby and session with each other. It is another easy way to make new friends and learn a few new tricks of the trade.
I hope you found these tips helpful in your child?s pursuit of learning how to do magic. Please visit www.kapoof.com for more information on how to do magic tricks and learn more about the Art of Magic!

In addition to his day job as an IT manager, Andy Makar is a freelance writer, instructor and a life-long Magic enthusiast. He started www.kapoof.com as resource for parents, kids, and hobbyists to learn more about the art of Magic. He can be reached at andy@kapoof.com