EASY T4 Tricks for Beginners - 02

 Many magicians devote their entire lives to mastering the art of illusion, but you don't have to go to such great lengths to impress your friends and family. With the right know-how and a little practice, you can easily learn to perform a number of jaw-dropping tricks that are guaranteed to leave onlookers in awe! Start by perfecting a few simple beginner tricks, like making a pencil float in the palm of your hand or passing a cup through a solid tabletop. Then, work your way up to more difficult tricks, such as making a coin disappear and levitating. Read on to keep your audience spellbound with your repertoire of tricks!

Things You Should Know

• Start with a simple coin trick to get a “handle” on magic, then work on other simple tricks like bending a spoon or making a pencil float.
• Make clever comments to amuse and distract onlookers. For example, as you rub a coin into your arm, say that your doctor told you to “get more iron.”
• Try a more challenging trick, like pretending to levitate, so you can entertain others and leave them wondering how you did it.

1

Smash a cup through a table "accidentally." Explain to your audience that you're going to pass a magical ball through a solid table top using a small cup and a “cloak of concealment” (an ordinary piece of paper). Place the cup upside down over the ball, then scrunch the paper around the cup to cover it up. Pick up the paper-covered cup and give your audience one last look at the ball. As you do, inconspicuously drop the cup into your lap and cradle it between your thighs. Put the cup-shaped paper shell back over the ball and give it a smack. Remove the paper to show that the ball is still there. Act like the cup has rematerialized beneath the table.^[7]

• Play up your “mistake” by saying something like, “Oh no! I think I hit it a little too hard. The cup went right through the table! I guess I used too much magic there.”
• The key to this trick is to let the cup fall quickly and quietly into your lap without your audience noticing it. Make it look like you're reaching all the way down to the floor when you go to retrieve it.

2

Spin a straw around the top of a bottle using only your mind. While no one is watching, take a paper-wrapped straw and rub your hand up and down its length a few times to generate static electricity. Be careful not to tear the thin paper wrapper. When you're ready to do the trick, lay the straw across the top of a bottle or another container with a narrow opening. Raise your hands over the ends of the straw and wave them forward and backward in a “mystical” way. The static charge will cause it to rotate without you ever actually touching it.^[8]

• Keep your hands close to the straw at all times. If they get too far away, the static charge will be too faint to continue moving it.
• If possible, perform the setup for this trick while your audience is absent or distracted (such as when your dining companion excuses themselves to go to the restroom).

3

Stand at a slight angle with your back to your audience. Stand in a diagonal position with the heels of your feet pointed towards the audience and your toes pointed away from them. Place both feet flat on the ground so they're side-by-side.^[9]

• To avoid drawing any suspicion, try slowly pacing back and forth while setting up the trick. Then, stop and get into position after your final turn. This will make it seem like you ended up in your stance by chance.
• This trick works best when performed in front of an audience that's standing still so they won't be able to move around and get a better look at your feet.

Caution your onlookers that levitating is an extremely difficult skill. Stress that you'll only be able to hold yourself up for a second or two, if at all. When you're ready, hold your arms out to your sides slightly and take a few deep breaths to convey how hard you're concentrating.

• If you want, you can go as far as to throw in a couple “failed” attempts to lend an element of realism to the trick.

Rock on the ball of the foot that’s furthest away from the audience. Fluidly transfer your weight onto the ball of the foot that’s far away from your onlooker while allowing the foot that’s closest to them to hover 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) above the ground. If you manage to pull this off, it'll appear as though you've succeeded in levitating for a brief moment.^[11]

• For added effect, wave your arms around like you're trying to maintain your center of gravity.^[12]
• If you get good enough at finding exactly the right stance and foot placement, this trick will make even the most skeptical member of your audience question whether they can trust their own eyes.
• Slip into a pair of flat-soled shoes with thick, chunky heels. These will do a better job of hiding the angle of your support foot than more flexible footwear, which may leave your arch visible.

Lower yourself back down to the ground. Give them just a quick flash of what's happening and leave them reeling with surprise. By the time their minds begin processing what they've just seen, you'll have already moved on to your next trick or given a bow to finish your performance.^[13]

• The longer you “float,” the more of a chance your audience will have to deduce that the trick is just an optical illusion and not a real magic trick.