'My Magic Life' Blog
Practice
Pablo Casals, the famous Spanish cellist who lived to be 97 years of age, when he reached 95, a young reporter asked him a question: “Mr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day?” And Mr. Casals answered, “Because I think I’m making progress.”
Although this quote is quite possibly apocryphal, I still think about it quite a bit. To anyone not involved in a world where practice plays a big part, then ‘practice’ can seem like just another word rather than a concept or indeed, believe it or not, a way of life.
We can all watch a circus performer juggle 4 balls while walking a tightrope and know that they must have practiced a lot to be able to do that but beyond what we see at the show, there is much more going on. That circus artist will have trained for hours and hours every day for years and years to make what they do look natural. They will have dedicated themselves physically, mentally and believe it or not emotionally and spiritually to becoming the best circus performer that they can be.
That’s how I treat my magic performances. Whether I’m performing close up magic at a wedding or hosting a corporate event, I know I need to be in the best mental and physical condition I can be in order to deliver the best magic I possibly can. To get there I practice!
For me, practice is a daily routine. I like to wake very early and while everyone else is cosy In bed I sit down with a pot of coffee and get a good 2 hours done before 9am. This might be practicing sleight of hand, working on a new secret technique for my magic or reworking old routines and magic tricks that I like to perform. The important thing is that it isn’t just an aimless practice session. It is a tailored, goal led length of time so that the practice is worthwhile and not just a waste of time. In his amazing book ‘Bounce’ Matthew Syed calls it ‘Purposeful Practice.’ My own partner is a music tutor and she calls it ‘Smart Practice.’ Smart Practice is focus driven, working all the time on specific goals. For the musician it might be using the metronome to help tighten up their timings, for me it might be repeating a movement until it’s so natural that it becomes essentially invisible to my audience. For me, part of ‘Smart Practice’ is that it has to be fun, it must be enjoyable. Learning is state dependant so if I’m not in the right state of mind I will move on, work on something else and later return to what I was practicing when I’m in a better place.
On a good day I will have practiced a total of 4 to 6 hours. This kind of practice becomes a routine, a ritual in fact. The very ritual of practice becomes meditative and for me is an essential part of keeping a healthy mind. So not only do i practice for my magic performances, I practice for my own well-being. I’ve found that dedicating myself to a ritual of practice has meant that other areas of my life also benefit. Laziness and procrastination are a thing of the past, I get things done and I like to do them to the best of my ability, whatever those things happen to be.
I have dedicated myself to an ideal…The best magician I can possibly be so that my clients get the best magical experience; and the best person I can be so that all other areas of my life can benefit in a positive way. That’s my ideal and I aim for it through practice.
Like Pablo Casals, I hope I also live late into my 90’s and still be practicing and maybe I’ll still be making progress. :)
Magician Caolan McBride in his practice studio.