A lot has been said about the ethics of teaching other people's material. A case in point that has often been mentioned here and on other people's web sites is Michael Ammar. Much of the material on his Easy to Master series of DVD's is not original with him. So, is it okay for him to teach this material?

Michael has been in the business for a long time. He was a very close friend of Dai Vernon, as well as a number of other prominent "old-timers." Much of what he teaches on his DVD's is material he learned from them. Michael is an ethical guy. He credits everyone whose material he uses, and as far as I know, has gotten permission from those who are still around to give it to use their material. I know he had permission from Vernon to teach his stuff.

If I'm wrong about this, please let me know.

Now, my opinion, FWIW. The stuff Michael teaches is good. There is no denying that. Some of it is better, IMHO, than his own material. He always puts his own twist on things. Part of the problem that some people have with his material is that some of it is stuff they learned from, say, their own fathers, uncles, cousins, etc. A good example of this is the card on the ceiling. I've been doing that trick since I was about 8 years old. My actual method is a bit different, but the result is the same. Should I be ticked off at Michael for selling a lot of his special something that does the job? No! Not at all. If I'd had any business sense, I would have published "my" version years before he did. That's the breaks, baby!

His coin on the ceiling is a nice logical extension of the same trick.

Remember, the ETMCM and others in his teaching series are, in some cases, classics. They have fundamental material that people need to know in order to be an effective magician. His teaching style is very simple. If it's too simple for you, thank the people who are less intelligent than you who are learning how to do magic. He wants to reach the largest possible audience with his material. That's the way to do it. You certainly don't need complicated explanations when simple ones will suffice.

Let's take a look at a parallel situation. Look at Bruce Elliott. He published several small books about magic during the 1940's and 1950's. Among them are Classic Secrets of Magic, The Best in Magic, and Professional Magic Made Easy. The material in these books wasn't his, but he had permission to use it. One of these books contains the Roy Benson bowl routine, which was the basis of Don Alan's bowl routine. Was Bruce wrong to publish these? No.

Michael Ammar is an easy target, because he is a prominent magician. He does some of his own material on his DVD's as well, so it's not like he is simply rehashing old stuff. He teaches the material well, and the student should be able to do the tricks without difficulty if he practices.

So why all of the criticism? It could be that some people are seeing "other people who shouldn't know that kind of magic" doing their pet tricks. It could be that some people are letting the new things in magic pass them by. It could be sour grapes.

Don't be jealous of successes. Learn from them. And figure out what they did right.

Then you, too, will prosper.