I am not sure this is really where this belongs, but hopefully it fits.

I have had the opportunity to attend many different lectures and although the lecturers are good, I really wonder, if at least for me, if it is worth attending and buying the materials offered.

I shell out the few bucks for the notes or the great effect, get home and never seem to present the stuff have as great as it was present. Some of it is the material, other times, it just the extras that the presenter gave I have forgotten.

What do you folks think of lectures, and if you like them how do you get the most out of them. I really wish lectures would come with video or a least audio notes.

I only buy stuff at lectures if it will fit in to what I'm already doing. If I see something that will enhance my show, or if I can replace something I'm presently doing with something new that I see, I do it. Otherwise, you can go broke buying stuff you'll never use.

It's always worth attending - sometimes you can get some great ideas from traveling lecturers without spending a dime.

Jim

Jim, Do you actually take notes at these things? I swear I can have such a poor memory.

Sometimes all I get out of them is an evenings entertainment and a chance to have fun with my friends in the club. That in itself makes it worth it to me. Once in a while we have one that just isn't my cup of tea and I regret going, but that's rare.

Jim has it right.

Material performed and sold at lectures can be impressive and tempting but will you has to ask, "Is this for me? Can I really use this stuff?"

There are likely some performers whose style and type of magic fits your character better than others. Go to those lectures. Also, if you're into coins then go see coin workers, if cards then go see someone who you know does a lot of card work..

I have a LOT of stuff I've bought at lectures that I don't use, so choose wisely and ask yourself "do I really see myself performing that in a few months or years?". I also take a LOT of notes at every lecture I attend (regardless if lecture notes are for sale or not)--I'm usually the only person taking notes at most of the lectures I attend. On the other hand, sometimes you can get a great deal on a dvd set of the lecturer that you can't get anywhere else.

Aside from visiting with friends, the first things I look for in lectures are ideas. Ideas can come from a totally different field of magic from what I use in my show. Granted, the walk-around magicians aren't going to have doves or major illusions for my real shows. However, there are ideas from card and coin magicians that also work or generate other ideas for stage magic.

While personally I could just never generate the money from close-up magic, I actually enjoy it as a hobby. I'm allowed to enjoy magic as a hobby too! It does not have to fit my public image. It won’t reduce my income as a stage magician.

Like others, I have my boxes of "treasures" that I never used. And too many of them I have actually never even opened. As I age I also find the same old tricks coming back on the market under different names with a new "inventor". I have even bitten on some of them and bought them again without realizing that I had it from fifteen years ago from a different lecturer. I'm not sure that is necessarily bad either. Apparently, I still want to perform the trick.

If one is a compulsive buyer and depriving his family of things simply to buy magic that is like gambling, drinking or anything else. It's time for a twelve-step group meeting. If I'm simply spending "fun money" and investing in my quality of life, why not? They are souvenirs of happy times. Sometimes they even become working magic for others.

These are choices too!

Look at it like other spending/investing. How much golf, fishing, skiing, smoking, hunting, drinking, vacationing, car racing, baseball, dancing, tool collecting, photography, etc. can I afford anyway? Do I have to prove the next week I enjoy it still? Who is keeping score? Why?

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

PS --- There are magic flea markets, auctions, “Let’s Make a Deal” on The Magic Café, and eBay. But they are also sources of more “treasures”.

Life is good!

I'd agree with Bob about getting ideas from lectures. I attend a lot of lectures in areas of magic that I don't do, and I generally get several good ideas that will work for me from them. I only buy videos, lecture notes, or props after the lecture if it is something I will really use, with one exception and that is Ali Bongo's lecture notes. I collect those, plus I generally get lots of ideas from his lectures and the notes help me remember them. I used to try to take notes during a lecture, but I've stopped doing that. Now I carry a little digital recorder and after the lecture, while it is still fresh on my memory speak them into the recorder and later write them down from the recording. I found that trying to make notes during the lecture was too distracting and I missed a lot.

Attending a lecture is normally something not for beginners. A lot of things are taken for granted and given.

Also, not every lecture is a hit. So choose wisely.

Andy

No one lectures in Minnesota.

While they are not always suitable for beginners, it is still worth going to any in your area. It may be the once in a lifetime chance for you to meet some of the big names in magic and, as was said above, a good way to have "idea seeds" planted that you may think back on in the future. I often go back to notes I've taken years ago when I was a beginner and look at them in a completly new light now that I know more. And it's always fun to hang out with other magi! (maybe not always, but usually!)

While some of the material might be a little advanced for a beginner, it is a great place to see some good live magic. Anytime you can watch someone perform it is a learning experience. The advantage is that you can ask questions and get a response.

I attended a lecture in Las Vegas several months ago. It was being presented by a card guy and although I am not the greatest with the pasteboards, I decided to check it out. The thing that drove me absolutely nuts was the magician had to have been suffering from ADD. (attention deficit disorder) He would be asked a question and as he answered, he would constantly go off on long tangents and many times would not come back to the original question! It was so frustrating and the 2 hour lecture lasted 4 and a half hours.

At the end, you have to ask yourself - is it worth the money?

I belong to an IBM Ring and we have had some very good lectures like, Dale Salwak, Martin Lewis, Whit Haydn, Daryl and I'm looking for some suggestions. Cards and coins are overdone and not enough members are envolved in stage magic, so I'm looking for lectures on parlor magic. I would appreciate any help you can give.
Abe

Don't attend lectures to get effects. Go to lectures to learn about the things that aren't in the effects description. Ask questions about presentation and why something is done, rather than how. Observe how the effects fit into the performers personality. Then if you see something you like then buy the effect or the DVD or book.

I try to take notes that rarely have much description of the actual effects, unless there is a subtlety that I won't likely remember. Most lecture notes are good for the effect description, but don't capture the rest of what is going on.

Do they get asked to?

One thing that I just remembered. When Eugene Berger lectured locally a few weeks ago, he only broght his business cards and a few pamphlets from the magic school, no effects or notes/books. I found it refreshing.

Some folks need to sell stuff to help cover costs and such which is titally understandable, but this was a really nice bit from Eugene.

Welcome to the club. I have so much stuff, I need to buy a new house. I like the idea of using "fun Money" to buy materials.

I do use ideas, thoughts and props from lectures. I needed a third Christmas show, and I bought and used 4 new items that David Ginn sold. I did not use them in the manner he did - I added my own personality and it is working!