Every gig we do is a learning experience.
And if it’s not, then we’re not paying enough attention to what we’re doing.
That’s why, when my students/clients/pals record these vocal samples, I only give them three takes straight through the track to deliver.
My reasoning is thus:
1) With digital recording, three complete vocal takes should give me plenty of material to “comp” the vocals, which means that I simply take the best phrases — sometimes, even, the best word — and put them all together in a single vocal take. If there are too many takes to choose from, or if we start “punching in” single words, etc., the performance gets lost because we are seeking perfection over performance. I’ll always take performance first because it’s real and real humans are seldom perfect;
2) With three full takes on one song, the singer has to “go for the gold” each time. It’s a good practice to get in to. The singer is pushed to get to what that song means pretty quickly. No “warming up” for five or six takes and then expecting magic. Music producers come in all shapes and sizes with different demands and a singer has to be prepared for a session that could last fifteen minutes or five hours. If a singer goes for the gold on each take, giving it his or her all each time, then a producer is less inclined to throw out entire takes and ask for another one while also respecting that the singer is there delivering a high quality, fully energized product (the vocal line) in as efficient a manner as possible (studio time costs money — be a hero, not a diva).
Finally, digital pitch correction.
I don’t use it. The demos you hear are demos. Some major artists now touring are using pitch correction software in their live shows.
We don’t call that art. We call that “cashin’ checks”!