Intro to Card Magic: Foundational Techniques, Effects, and Theory
This is a complete beginner's course on how to perform card magic to live audiences. We will be covering magic tricks, sleight of hand techniques, magic theory, and more. This class is a great summer activity for students.
What's included
15 live meetings
22 hrs 30 mins in-class hoursHomework
1-2 hours per week. Students are encouraged to practice and perform the effects and techniques learned in the course between meetings.Class Experience
Beginner Level
This is a complete beginner’s course dedicated to the topic of performing card magic to live audiences. We will cover magic tricks, sleight of hand techniques, and many of the theoretical considerations that goes into making magic powerful and deeply baffling. The goal of this course is for every student to be able to walk away with a handful of effects they can confidently perform in any environment. No one will be needing top hats, doves, or any other special apparatus. All students need is an ordinary deck of 52 playing cards in their pocket, and they will be ready to perform in any situation, anytime they want. Although the intention of the class is to help students understand the relationship between context and the way magic is perceived to be able to perform in any situation, most of the material taught in this class will be situated in the context of casual, social environments, where spectators will often be friends and family members. The class is structured such that each session builds upon each other. We will start by covering basic ideas and techniques—such as how to hold a deck of cards, how to spread, move, shuffle, and cut them efficiently—before working our way to more challenging, yet nonetheless, fundamental techniques—including how to control, switch, force, and palm cards without the spectator’s knowing. Becoming comfortable with these techniques will allow students to perform a vast variety of magic effects. Including, but not limited to: being able to read someone’s mind, transforming one card into another in the spectator’s hands, teleporting a card to an impossible location, and predicting the outcome of a spectator’s decisions before they make them. A typical session would start with the instructor performing an effect. We will then explain how to do all of the techniques that is required in that effect before moving onto the explanation of the performance. Any remaining time will be spent on workshopping students’ performances, techniques and answering questions. Each week contains three sessions, and will usually contain 2-3 effects and a number of techniques used to accomplish those effects. This course is intended to introduce students to the art of magic and to inspire them to seek out more resources to continue their learning even after the class finishes.
Learning Goals
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
Perform a collection of magic tricks/effects with confidence in any environment.
More thoroughly understand the theoretical considerations that goes behind performing magic.
Be able to execute a collection of basic sleight of hand techniques with playing cards.
Syllabus
15 Lessons
over 5 WeeksLesson 1:
Basic Handling 1
Introduce the importance of softness.
Essentials: control, switch, force, palm.
Grips: mechanics, dealer/box, straddle, end/biddle.
Spreading a deck of cards in the hands/on the table.
Squaring the deck (and how to do this efficiently).
Cuts: Straight cut to the table, undercuts, the swing cut.
Shuffling: overhand.
Effect: Lazy Man's Card Trick 90 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Basic Handling 2
Dealing: face down/face up.
Out-jogging cards as they are spread.
Turning the deck over: two handed, one handed, T.G Murphy deck flip.
Dribbling/Riffling Cards/Airing Cards.
Shuffling: ITH riffle shuffle.
Breaks: methods of establishing a break (spread, riffle), holding a break, basic break throw-offs.
Effect: Say Stop Telepathy (Introducing the key card) 90 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Basic Handling 3
Thumb fan (and how to close with one hand).
Spring.
Q&A workshop.
Effect: Spectator cuts to Aces (Larry Jennings) 90 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Controls 1: False Overhand Shuffles and cuts.
Controlling a single top card with an overhand shuffle.
Controlling a single bottom card with an overhand shuffle.
Overhand Jog shuffle: top/bottom stock, as a control.
The Lift shuffle: top stock control, how to add and remove cards.
The False swing cut to table.
The False Hindu cut to the table.
The J. Ose Cut.
Effect: Thought Stealer (CCV1) 90 mins online live lesson
Other Details
Supply List
You will need some playing cards: standard or Rider Back Bicycles will do. I recommend having two decks so you can cycle between them during practice to avoid the cards from being worn out too quickly, which is very normal when you're first starting out in sleight of hand. But if you cannot get two, you will at least need one. Roberto Giobbi's Card College Volume 1 is an optional reading, as much of the content covered in this course contains overlaps with material taught in that book.
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
Card College Volume 1 is a recommended reading, but it is not required.
Teacher expertise and credentials
Kevin Liu has dedicated the majority of his life to performance and much of his teenage years to honing the craft of magic and sleight of hand. He has over 10 years of experience as a juggler and 6 years of experience as a magician, performing in every environment imaginable: close-up, parlour, stage, at dinner parties, special events, on the streets, and more. He has a deep understanding of how to make sleight of hand deceptive and how to blend magic effects into contemporary contexts. Kevin is constantly searching for new ways to improve his craft.
Reviews
Live Group Course
$30
weekly or $150 for 15 classes3x per week, 5 weeks
90 min
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
2-7 learners per class
