How to Learn Magic for Beginners

In this article, we will look at how to learn magic for beginners.  If you are a beginner and completely new to magic, this would be a great place for you to start!

You can also find a more general guide to learning magic that will have beginner and advanced topics I will try to keep updated at How to Learn Magic!

Let’s dive in.

When you first start in magic, you might want to familiarize yourself with the different types of magic.  This is because the term “magic”, is a broad term.  Magic is actually composed of many different types of magic, and some people prefer certain types of magic.

Some people spend their entire careers specializing in only one type of magic as well.  But, you don’t have to.  A lot of people also choose to learn magic in general and will learn from all, or most of the different categories and types of magic.  Most beginner courses will also teach you many different types of magic as well.

If you already are familiar with the different types of magic or you know what you want to learn, you can skip the following section.

Different Types of Magic to Learn

What are the different types of magic you can learn?

Here are some of the different types of magic that can be learned and practiced.  Should you decide that you want to pursue just one type of magic, you can just jump into the resources available for that type of magic to begin.

Card Magic

Card magic is the use of playing cards or a deck of cards to perform card tricks.  Card magic has many different levels, from very easy beginner card tricks all the way up to advanced sleight of hand with cards, memorized decks, and other more advanced tricks.

Because cards also have mathematical properties, there are even self-working card tricks that can be performed by beginners.

There are also trick card decks that allow beginner magicians to also do tricks that would otherwise be too hard for their skill level.

Card magic is probably the most popular form of magic in modern times, and it is the one in which you will find the most resources.  But, that can also be a drawback since there is so much information, you may not know what is the best to learn.

If you want to learn card sleight of hand, you can get started learning card magic sleight of hand with the post Sleight of Hand with Cards Basics.

Coin Magic

Coin magic is the use and manipulation of coins.  This includes things such as vanishes and reappearances and the changing of coins.  Coin magic is a very visual form of magic.  The only thing about coin magic is it generally uses a lot of sleight of hand.  This means it can take a beginner a long time in some cases before they are able to perform certain tricks.

Card magic has tricks that are more mentally based or that use mathematical or other self-working principles, allowing beginners to start doing simple tricks.  Coins are a lot more visual and will take more time and practice before the sleight of hand becomes good enough to perform and looks natural.  Or, some moves are hard enough that the move itself can’t even be done without much practice.

Coin magic is not nearly as popular as card magic, but there are still some great resources available for beginning magicians wanting to learn.  So don’t let that stop you, since there are great resources available.

Close Up Magic

Close-up magic is generally a mix of card and coin magic.  It can also include money magic as well using bills instead of coins.  It’s done seated at a table or up close to the audience.  Other props can be used as well, such as cups and balls for additional effects.

Mentalism

Mentalism is a form of mental magic, which performs tricks and makes it look as if the performer has super mental powers or mind-reading abilities.  (Learn more about mentalism in our Mentalism Guide with Tricks and More)

Mentalism has seemed to explode in popularity in recent years, so you can find plenty of resources for Mentalism, but rarely for free.  Here is one course on Mentalism, called Master Mentalism if you are looking for a place to start learning Mentalism magic.

Ball Magic & Sponge Balls

Ball magic can involve the use of balls, such as billiard balls.  Or, it can be sponge balls.  I personally love sponge ball magic.

I can’t think of anyone who has done only ball magic or sponge ball magic in their career.  Usually, it is combined with something else.

Stage Magic

Stage magic is magic that is performed on a stage, using involving larger props or tools.  This can be hard to learn for beginning magicians since certain stage props can be very expensive or time-consuming to build.

There are some tricks and props such as the Chinese Linking Rings which can be purchased at cheaper costs than most elaborate stage magic props.  This would probably be the best option to start with.

Also, there is something called Card Manipulation, which can be a great form of stage magic.  The only drawback is this is one of the most intense forms of sleight of hand and can take years sometimes just to learn.

Street Magic

Street magic is really just close-up magic performed on the streets instead of in a more formal setting.  There are also professional buskers who perform stage magic tricks but set up in a street environment instead.

Rope Magic

Rope magic is a great form of magic, and one of the most overlooked.  It’s not very popular, and it tends to be an older form of magic that has been forgotten.  But those who can do rope magic can do it very well.

Rope magic can also be combined with rings to make rope and ring magic.

Kid’s Magic

If you just want to perform for kids or at kids’ birthday parties, then you would just want to learn Kid’s magic.  There are some resources from magicians who only perform kid’s magic and will teach you the same.

Where to Begin Learning Magic

When you start out in magic as a beginner, you might be overwhelmed by all the different options.  Also, there are a lot of fancy tricks that promise to get you great reactions.

I recommend though, that at first, you might not want to just get individual tricks, at least until you build some kind of foundation.  How can you do that?

When you first start out in magic, maybe the easiest thing to do is to start with a beginner’s magic kit, an online course, or a beginner’s magic book.  Both of these options will usually present you with a range of different types of magic, and most tricks will be easier ones to perform.

But, you don’t have to get a kit or book.  You could learn plenty of stuff from this site instead, for example.

Beginner Magic Kits

One good option when you start out might be a beginner’s magic kit.  I think one of the best ones I have seen is by a great magician named Joshua Jay.  Joshua is one of the best in the business and he knows his stuff.  So he’s put together a pretty good kit for beginners.

The kit is called, Magic: The Complete Course.  The kit comes with some basic beginner props and a trick deck.  You also get a book along with some video instructions for some of the tricks.

Joshua does a great job teaching a wide range of easier tricks.  Not all of the tricks will be jaw-dropping tricks that will win you fame, but they do provide a foundation.  They teach you some basics and basic magic methods and concepts.  You can then take those principles on to more advanced tricks should you choose to.

Also, most of the tricks require little to no sleight of hand.  Now, this can be both a positive and a negative, depending on what you are looking for.  If you are looking for simpler tricks to jump into that require very little sleight of hand, you will enjoy this.  But, just be aware, that most advanced tricks require sleight of hand, and sometimes lots of sleight of hand.

In most of these magic kits, you don’t really get a foundation in sleight of hand magic.  I’m a little bit old school, and I think that sleight of hand is foundational for magic.  All of the old, and even recent, great magicians, all use sleight of hand.

So, while you do learn some magic concepts and easy tricks, you don’t really build a foundation of sleight of hand magic.

Joshua Jay is not the only one who has a magic kit.  You can find others.  But most are going to be very similar in that they will teach easy tricks, with minimal sleight of hand, and some basic magic concepts.

What’s another option?

Beginner Magic Books

There are some classic beginner magic books.  One of the most famous ones is Mark Wilson’s Complete Magic Course.

The thing I like better about this book, than most beginner magic kits, is that it teaches a lot more sleight of hand.  In fact, this book has a ton of sleight of hand.  Old-school magic was usually about tons of sleight of hand.  And it’s good to get a foundation in sleight of hand.

Also, the tricks in the book are very good.  You will learn a lot of classics from this book.

The book is structured very well so that it starts with easier tricks and moves and progresses to harder tricks.

One of the drawbacks of this method though is that most of these books were made before video was widely available.  In magic, video can sometimes be a much easier way to learn.

You can still learn from books, it can just be a little harder to understand what’s going on sometimes.  Video also gives you a demonstration of how something should look in real time.  Some of the more recent magic books tend to have more detailed photos, but even then, it’s not as good as video.

Another drawback is that you might get frustrated with how hard some of this book can become.  It can take a long time to get through.  But, it might be something you work your whole life on, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  He kind of designed it as a complete magic course, so it can cover beginner through advanced magic.

You can find other beginner magic books as well.  Just realize, that they will have the same drawbacks.

YouTube Videos

You can try to learn magic by watching YouTube videos as another option.  Sometimes, the only problem with this is that there is no set path or structure.

(However, you can visit and subscribe to my YouTube channel at ULearnMagic YouTube Channel for lots of free tricks and magic tips!)

That means, on YouTube though, you probably won’t know where to begin.  Also, you may jump into stuff that is too advanced.  You also won’t have a set progressive path of what to learn next after each step.

That’s what kits, books, or courses can provide for you as a beginner.