The practice of magic relies very heavily on… practice. Yeah, that does make sense, doesn’t it?
It is important to have an area that you can practice your magic undisturbed. Most of us do not have room for a dedicated magic practice area. I had an apartment a few years back that had huge bedrooms. One of the bedrooms was my office and I had the space for a 6 foot long table that was dedicated to my magic practice. That was a luxury, I no longer have.
This was such a great area to play… I mean practice. It was right next to my computer desk, so I could do some research online, read a PDF, or watch a video – then practice right away. I could even still see the computer monitor if I needed. We now live in a small condo and the rooms are tiny. My computer desk takes up almost the whole room.
I can still practice on my desk, but I no longer have a dedicated space. You can see in that pic that I had a bookshelf, space for whatever tricks I was currently working on, a close up mat, and a practice mirror. I really miss that great setup.
3-Way Mirror
The 3 way mirror is a pretty handy helper. I bought 3 small mirrors, wired them together, and now have a mirror that allows me to see from the front and both sides – similar to a changing mirror at the clothing store.
As you can see, the mirror allows you to view the angles while practicing. It is easy to get in the habit of looking down at your hand while practicing. This is a bad habit. Looking down from the top really does not show you anything you need to see, and while performing you should be looking at the audience. If you engage with them, they will be more engaged with you. If you stare at your hands… so will they!
The mirror is good while practicing because you can see the front and side views, to make sure you are doing the ‘move’ without flashing it to the audience.
I put in some screw eyes, then simply used picture hangers and wire to attach the mirrors together. I made sure the wire was long enough to allow the mirror to stand with the proper angles for my view. I also used longer wire on one side to allow the mirror to fold up like a book, for easy storage (better view of that in the YouTube video).
It is not a pretty setup, and was supposed to be temporary while I tested the design. Temporary as in I built it 15 years ago and never went back and cleaned it up. From the front it looks fine, and it works.
~Edit~ The old mirror was looking bad – check out my new design here – https://freemagicfun.com/redesigning-my-3-way-practice-mirror/
Practice Undisturbed
It is best to have a place you can practice without distractions or interruptions. Even though I have to just use my desk, I no longer have a permanent magic practice area, I have enough privacy that I do not get disturbed – much – while I practice.
The performance is fun, of course, but without lots of practice the performance will suffer. I like to use the 3-way mirror to learn the maneuver I am working on. Then some moves can be practiced while watching TV (YouTube, Netflix, whatever).
Practicing over and over and over and over and… yeah practice a lot. Practice will help build muscle memory. The more you do a certain thing, the easier it becomes. Musicians and professional athletes do not just show up and fake it. They practice. A lot! Any performing art should be the same. And magic is a performing art.
To really build muscle memory you need to do a maneuver hundreds, if not thousands, of times. You need to get a decent grasp of the movement so you do not train it incorrectly. Once you have a good grasp of the mechanics, there is nothing wrong with watching TV and just keep repeating the move.
You really need to be able to do the tricks without looking at your hands anyway, so practicing without really looking is a useful way to practice. Just make sure you check it periodically to ensure you are not practicing the move incorrectly.
