Can you keep a secret?
It’s not often that I think of myself as an old-fashioned kind of guy, but in at
least one sense, I am. Very.
It all stems from my ability to keep a secret.
These days, for a magician, this trait is rare. Keeping a secret is an unusual thing to do, as other guys concentrate a lot of effort on the complete opposite. Youtube videos are made with a performance so bad that no secret is protected, but just as common are videos of people simply revealing the methods - no attempt at performance.
So, why is this bad?
First of all, it is of course exposure. Now, I’m not one of those people that goes screaming to the magic circle when a maths trick appears on a cereal packet, but likewise, I believe it should be slightly harder for a spectator to uncover a method for a trick by simply typing it into a search engine. In the age of smart phones, I’ve had people google the tricks during the performance. This is obviously not a great situation.
Secondly, (but probably of paramount importance to me) is the ethics of it. Which of us has the right to expose somebody else’s trick? If it’s an old classic trick, there isn’t much to be done, but why should a creator earn less from his idea because someone has revealed his trick on youtube? There is of course no reason at all. As such, the exposure ends up being bad for magic as creators don’t sell the units they should, and keep other ideas to themselves.
So, why should you keep secrets?
Firstly, I should say that I don’t ALWAYS. I do occasionally trade secrets with other magicians, or let an interested party in on the work behind something I am doing. But there is a time and a place.
One - Are they actually interested? Why does the person want to know? Do they want to add the trick to their performing set, or are they simply curious? If they just want to know the method, that is a good enough reason for me to withhold it. Instead, I tell them who’s it is, and where it’s published. Then, the ball is in their court. If they go out and research it themselves, then I am more likely to share later on, because I’m talking to someone who is willing to learn, and doesn’t want to simply devour secrets like chips. (Mmmmm... Chips.)
Two - It protects my own material. I happen to get through a LOT of material, but there are mainstays in my acts. Those are things I consider to be my trademark effects, and sharing them would be giving over, literally, some of my special tools to do my job. I like the idea of having 5 or 6 tricks that nobody will ever know, or if they do work out, they won’t quite have all the work on them. This is like offering drinks to friends - there is always a bottle of something nicer that I’m holding out, to share when the time is right, or selfishly devour myself.
Three - For trades. Sometimes (in fact quite often) a magician I am sessioning with will show me something astonishing, or something that I know I could use. We might do 10 tricks for each other, and literally only like one of each. But the fact I’m not giving my secrets away all the time, means a meaningful transaction can occur. I can ask for the work on the trick that catches my imagination, and offer the same in return. This is, I believe, the optimal way that magic is taught and learned. Why on earth would I watch ‘Magic Trick Revealed’ on youtube when someone who has actually worked the effect can teach me? Because then I’m not just learning ‘the secret’ but the performing secrets, which is the real gold.
When you are in this situation, and someone offers to teach you a trick that they have used, listen and pay as much attention as possible, even if you already think you know it. Because the mechanics are the easy bit. What else is being taught is the real secret.
What’s your opinions on all this? =
It all stems from my ability to keep a secret.
These days, for a magician, this trait is rare. Keeping a secret is an unusual thing to do, as other guys concentrate a lot of effort on the complete opposite. Youtube videos are made with a performance so bad that no secret is protected, but just as common are videos of people simply revealing the methods - no attempt at performance.
So, why is this bad?
First of all, it is of course exposure. Now, I’m not one of those people that goes screaming to the magic circle when a maths trick appears on a cereal packet, but likewise, I believe it should be slightly harder for a spectator to uncover a method for a trick by simply typing it into a search engine. In the age of smart phones, I’ve had people google the tricks during the performance. This is obviously not a great situation.
Secondly, (but probably of paramount importance to me) is the ethics of it. Which of us has the right to expose somebody else’s trick? If it’s an old classic trick, there isn’t much to be done, but why should a creator earn less from his idea because someone has revealed his trick on youtube? There is of course no reason at all. As such, the exposure ends up being bad for magic as creators don’t sell the units they should, and keep other ideas to themselves.
So, why should you keep secrets?
Firstly, I should say that I don’t ALWAYS. I do occasionally trade secrets with other magicians, or let an interested party in on the work behind something I am doing. But there is a time and a place.
One - Are they actually interested? Why does the person want to know? Do they want to add the trick to their performing set, or are they simply curious? If they just want to know the method, that is a good enough reason for me to withhold it. Instead, I tell them who’s it is, and where it’s published. Then, the ball is in their court. If they go out and research it themselves, then I am more likely to share later on, because I’m talking to someone who is willing to learn, and doesn’t want to simply devour secrets like chips. (Mmmmm... Chips.)
Two - It protects my own material. I happen to get through a LOT of material, but there are mainstays in my acts. Those are things I consider to be my trademark effects, and sharing them would be giving over, literally, some of my special tools to do my job. I like the idea of having 5 or 6 tricks that nobody will ever know, or if they do work out, they won’t quite have all the work on them. This is like offering drinks to friends - there is always a bottle of something nicer that I’m holding out, to share when the time is right, or selfishly devour myself.
Three - For trades. Sometimes (in fact quite often) a magician I am sessioning with will show me something astonishing, or something that I know I could use. We might do 10 tricks for each other, and literally only like one of each. But the fact I’m not giving my secrets away all the time, means a meaningful transaction can occur. I can ask for the work on the trick that catches my imagination, and offer the same in return. This is, I believe, the optimal way that magic is taught and learned. Why on earth would I watch ‘Magic Trick Revealed’ on youtube when someone who has actually worked the effect can teach me? Because then I’m not just learning ‘the secret’ but the performing secrets, which is the real gold.
When you are in this situation, and someone offers to teach you a trick that they have used, listen and pay as much attention as possible, even if you already think you know it. Because the mechanics are the easy bit. What else is being taught is the real secret.
What’s your opinions on all this? =
Until next time (if not before…)
Liam Montier for dudethatscoolmagic.co.uk
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here to visit our online magic shop
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