Often students say to me that they hate to hear a recording of themselves singing. In 99 cases out of 100 the voice itself is actually fine. It’s what we put in the way of its happy release that we can hear in a recording. Tightness, funny neck positions, stiff tongues – it’s all there if we know what to listen out for.
So a dud recording can actually be really useful. As an example I made some recordings not so long ago of some classical French songs and at one point forgot completely about my neck position. I had my head down to check some music while I sang. In the playback I could hear how my voice really changed as I bent my neck. It wasn’t a nice sound as I could hear the sudden tightness in the throat. A great example to me to practice what I teach! In one sense you could say it was a waste of a take, but in another it’s been a useful reminder to play to students to watch their head positions.