Meet Dalton Attig | Music Composer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dalton Attig and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dalton, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I have always been super involved in and passionate about music since I was a kid, but I really started to take music composition seriously back in 2016. At that time, I went all out in terms of dedicating my time towards improving at my craft. I felt that I needed to spend the maximum amount of my free time on music, otherwise I wouldn’t ever become the highest quality of musician that I’d hoped to be. This meant that pretty much any time I wasn’t at my full time job, my goal was either to compose or study and if something came up that pulled me away from those tasks, I felt a bit disappointed in myself. Thankfully, I wouldn’t say that it ever got to the point where I completely became a recluse, but I do think that there were often times where I would’ve preferred to just stay at home and work on music instead of going out to an event with friends or family.

In recent years, my perspective on this kind of ‘grinding’ mindset has changed slightly. Nowadays, I have a dedicated amount of time per day to spend towards music that is minimal compared to the past. My ideal day would consist of 90 minutes of composing time and 45 minutes of piano practice. Then, on the weekends I may do a bit more than that. As long as I hit that time quota per day, I feel satisfied. But at the same time, if something comes up that makes it not possible, I don’t beat myself up about it. This is different than my mindset of the past in that if I had a day filled with 6 hours of free time, I would’ve felt obligated to spend all 6 of those hours on composition.

The realization I had that changed my view on this was that even if I thought I was doing 6 hours of music work in a day, it really wasn’t. I found that after first 2 hours or so of working on composition specifically, the quality of my results tended to diminish thereafter. It seemed that it would’ve been much more worthwhile to only set aside 2 hours or so of truly productive composition time and then enjoy the rest of my free time in another way. For me, my favorite way to spend my time is by spending quality time with my fiance and family. When I allow myself to set aside time for that, I feel fully rejuvenated and then when I do music work the following day, I feel like I can really make those hours count. All around, I just feel like this is a much more balanced way to structure myself as a creative.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a music composer, my favorite type of music to write is orchestral in nature. I’ve written a lot of music that is exclusively for orchestral instruments, but I also really enjoy writing music that includes instruments that wouldn’t typically be found in a live orchestra. For example, synthesizers, guitars and eclectic instruments like the otamatone. This pretty much can all be summed up as ‘soundtrack music,’ but it’s also the type of music that I like to write even if the end result is not being paired with visual media of some kind. I’m always trying to think about new combinations of sounds that I haven’t yet done, and I get pretty excited when I stumble upon a combination that I feel I haven’t explored much before.

One of the most challenging parts of my journey as a composer has been wrestling with the thought of not feeling up to par in quality when comparing my music to the music of great composers that I admire. There are many composers that I aspire to be like and sometimes it feels like the ability of said composers is something that is unattainable to me. I listen to their music and think ‘This is such a perfect composition, how would I ever be able to create something like this?’ When I have those thoughts, I remind myself that even those composers that I admire are just human and they are imperfect as well. And while I might not be able to see those imperfections, others will. I first had this thought during a composition lesson when my instructor was heavily critiquing the music of one of my favorite composers. After hearing his critique, I thought ‘Oh wow. Musical opinions are truly subjective.’ That seems so obvious to me now when I look back, but at the time it was difficult for me to fathom that a composer who’s music I viewed to be flawless could be imperfect to the ears of another.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Goodyear, and while we aren’t as big as neighboring cities like Phoenix or Scottsdale, we have an enormous amount of wondrous eateries that I frequent. Anyone who knows me well knows that I really enjoy tea – specifically milk based teas, and I would most definitely take a friend to hit some of my favorite tea spots. En Route, Teabo, Sugar & Spice, and Bobazona are among some of my favorites. Focusing more on food, some of my go-to restaurants to visit are: Colados Coffee and Crepes, Akai Hana, Haymaker, Sweet Snow and loads of others that I’m probably forgetting. For other things to check out, Goodyear is home to a large roster of public artwork and I’d love to take a friend on a tour of some of our most notable works. Some of my favorite public art pieces in Goodyear are the decorated traffic cabinets, Great Joy at City Hall, and Chasing the Stars at the Goodyear Rec Center.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My experience as a musician is thanks to many people. Firstly, I would like to thank my parents for getting me started in music by signing me up guitar lessons when I was in middle school. Initially, I wasn’t super interested in playing an instrument, but I’m glad that my parents coerced me into give it a shot as it changed my life in the long term. My mom likes to point out that she was ‘right’ about guitar lessons whenever this subject gets brought up. I’d also like to thank my fiance, Gabi, who is able to be a cheerleader for me and also someone I can rely on for honest feedback. Lastly, I’d like to thank my three closest friends; Mike, Matt and Thomas. These three have been a part of my musical journey since day one and they have often served as a great source of inspiration for me. They are all awesome musicians in their own right as well and I’m appreciative to have had such close friends for so long.

Website: https://www.daltonattig.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daltonattig/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AttigDalton

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@daltonattig9382?si=2nRzJgnTyamzQBgQ

Image Credits
Maria Gabriela Bueno Jennifer Lubbs