Recording tricks and making note

[Jason Leong]

Did you record how many tricks you have learn or how many sleight you have learn ?
I want to know how many peoples making note for recording their tricks.

[AceGambit]

I haven't kept track of them as I've learned them, but on occasion when designing routines, I have been known to open up excel and list all of the tricks I know so as to organize them into categories and a theme that will fit my routine nicely.

Do you keep track of yours?

[Jin Jian]

At the starting when i begin flourishing and magic i record down all of them but after awhile i feel that it is a pain in the ass .. plus mostly of my magic trick and flourishes are learn from youtube tutorial or magic dvd as for magic dvd i wont need to record down if i forgot i can just watch the dvd again .. and for the youtube tutorial i just llike the video

[Jason Leong]

I think making note is important because when you want to track or create trick. the note you had made will become one of the powerful tool,you can record the version you had change or you personal taught in the same trick.Maybe you like some trick , but it doesn't fit you personality .In this situation , you can change the way trick about the perform or some path you like.Recording in the note will help you record the details about the tricks.                          If you doesn't record you trick , 10 years or 20 years pass , you will forgot about the trick you have learn or create.

[Don Boyer]

I think making note is important because when you want to track or create trick. the note you had made will become one of the powerful tool,you can record the version you had change or you personal taught in the same trick.Maybe you like some trick , but it doesn't fit you personality .In this situation , you can change the way trick about the perform or some path you like.Recording in the note will help you record the details about the tricks.                          If you doesn't record you trick , 10 years or 20 years pass , you will forgot about the trick you have learn or create.

First, no offense, but this should be in the Magical/Cardistry Bonanza (or at least I think that's what we're calling it these days).

Second, Jason raises a very important point.  Some of the best magicians kept notes on their tricks, whether it was a wholly unique and new trick or personal notes on the modification of an older, pre-existing one.  It's hard to build a lifelong opus of your work when you haven't practiced a particular trick in so long that you've completely forgotten how you did it.  They even took notes on other magicians and things they saw in everyday life that they used as inspiration for a new trick idea.

A simple, modern method for tracking all of that is extremely simple and requires only a phone capable of sending email.  Many if not most web-based email services give you an account with theoretically unlimited storage - the more you use, the more they give you to use.  Email yourself with the notes you want to remember, attach relevant photos or videos you've taken with your phone, and give the message a useful subject for easier searching later.  Leave the email on the server and download a copy to your computer when you get home.

Now you have a chronologically-sorted, keyword-searchable compendium of anything and everything that strikes your magical imagination.  You may even wish to create a separate email address just for journaling purposes, in order to keep the clutter of your day-to-day mail out of it.  Just don't rely on your own computer or the web service alone to keep all this valuable data for you.  Use a local backup hard drive and an online backup service.