talkmagic.co.uk

The Effect
This book is pretty much devoted to the TT. Theres a great variety of effects from the usual cigarette and hanky tricks to others but its all the same principle.


Cost
Quite cheap I think it was £5 at the magic shop in Bolton.
www.elmwoodmagic.com has it at $4.95 but thats in the US and doesnt cover shipping cost I dont think?



Difficulty
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

I would give this a 2 as its fairly easy to do most tricks you just have to practice alot cos there can be some angle issues so practice in front of the mirror.



Review
A good book to get you started in magic and to using a TT..... I still use some of the effects but this book also shows you the wide range of effects you can accoplish with the TT but use your imagination with the effects cos it really startles people.



Overall
Yeah a good book and well worth the price. Make sure you buy a TT as welll otherwise it would be kinda useless
thats really all there is to say....

I think for that price, you couldnt really go wrong could you?

You can't really complain too much about any of the 101 tricks booklets given their price and they're written more for the beginner.

What is also ideal with the routines being of low technical difficulty is that once you've learnt the basics you can focus on the presentation.

Make sure you buy a TT as welll otherwise it would be kinda useless

I'd go along with that too

dat8962 wrote:You can't really complain too much about any of the 101 tricks booklets given their price and they're written more for the beginner. What is also ideal with the routines being of low technical difficulty is that once you've learnt the basics you can focus on the presentation.

Sometimes revisiting the places you start and finding new presentations and bringing them back in play can be refreshing and fun....I am sure everyone of us can think of something that is rather "silly" that we have continued/revisited using and had fun with....never underestimate the value of simple and elementary....as you said it can let you focus on presentation and that is arguably more important than mechanics at times.

Sorry to sound stupid, but what is a TT?

I'm not common with talk on here yet!


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All fine now - just didn't get the shortening!

MagicIan29 wrote:Sorry to sound stupid, but what is a TT?
I'm not common with talk on here yet!

I'll pm you

Not sure if you are reviewing Gary Darwin's book, but you might want to consider his 3 DVD set "Darwin's Encyclopedia of T. T. Magic" It goes over lots of great effects.

I have the book...didn't know that a DVD version was available....the book is really good and opened my eyes to various methods.

Re: the Darwin videos...

Some of the stuff is really quite good, and yet there's a good deal of things on there that may be considered 'basic'.

I personally recommend you overlook the 'basic' themes on the DVDs and just buy it. At last glance, the 3 disc set was less than £30, and although it's not a 'modern' teaching by any standards, it's very thorough and honest, and what you see is well beyond the 'basic' premise which many people associate this with.

EVEN SO... the DVD set OR THE BOOK are ideal for either the capable or more advanced user. I revisit the book regularly for ideas, and I never come up short.

And when you consider Darwin's history, you can rest assured that you're not just learning these important bits of advice from a spotty kid with dollar signs in his eyes—you're taking advice from a master of the art.

I agree althoughsometimes what we consider as basic can be the stuff that hits the hardest. I'm not necessarily saying that it's so in this case but in general.

I'd recommend that you 'skip' over the basic stuff but don't ignore it. You can still get some good comparrisons on technique etc. but nevertheless, it's a great value DVD set.

I travelled down to the Wessex last night to see Faye Presto lecture and it was well worth the 300 mile round trip. What was very nice to note was someone with such a high reputation using a TT throughout her act and she spoke at length about her thoughts on the TT.

So many younger magicians under rate the TT and their ability to get away with using one. Yes, it has been exposed a number of times but people have short memories and depending on what you do and how you do it, people shouldn't or won't think of a TT.

seige wrote:Re: the Darwin videos...

Some of the stuff is really quite good, and yet there's a good deal of things on there that may be considered 'basic'.

I personally recommend you overlook the 'basic' themes on the DVDs and just buy it. At last glance, the 3 disc set was less than £30, and although it's not a 'modern' teaching by any standards, it's very thorough and honest, and what you see is well beyond the 'basic' premise which many people associate this with.

EVEN SO... the DVD set OR THE BOOK are ideal for either the capable or more advanced user. I revisit the book regularly for ideas, and I never come up short.

And when you consider Darwin's history, you can rest assured that you're not just learning these important bits of advice from a spotty kid with dollar signs in his eyes—you're taking advice from a master of the art.

Seige, It's nice to hear your thoughts about Gary Darwin...he's a close friend of mine. He will be pleased to know that you consider his work in such high regards. I'll let him know when I see him next.

Wow, Mark... that would be fantastic... let him know that he's very a treasured part of my magical life.

Not that he'd probably care! But every little helps... I've learned a lot in my short lifetime, and one thing is that genuine praise or gratitude is priceless, and worth more than any paycheque.

seige wrote:...I've learned a lot in my short lifetime...

35 years ain't that short. You're probably greying at the temples by now, old boy.

The book doesn't really give enough time over to the skills involved with a TT. It's more about possible routines. It does give some good suggestions, but on the whole you can work possible ideas pretty easily with a TT. There open to many possibilities. However it did only cost £1.50, so for the price you get what you paid for.

Give Alexander DeCovas video on the TT a look. He has some unual handlings and thoughts on it. Its put out by Magikraft Studios, recorded at the home of Martin Lewis, with an interview of Alex by Martin. You won't be disappointed.
Cheers
Al