The importance of gaining perspective. After working on a song for a while it’s easy to loose perspective. Sometimes a throw away part is my favorite in hindsight. This has happened enough for me to get smart about it. Now I record a lot of ideas and review them after a day or two.
A good monitor mix. I have never been in a studio where the monitor mix wasn’t rushed and needed tweaking (Granted most of my studio recording was under “budget strain”). A good mix lets you hear the relevant parts of the music so you can pitch, stay in time, and “feel” the music as you perform . It let’s you hear the nuances of your performance if you need to. Take the time to get it right.
Why do I bring this up? I’ve been doing a quick and dirty monitor mix. I used headphones that were way too bass heavy. That was actually the biggest issue. Now I’m using some AKG 240s. It’s night and day. I can hear little details in my voice. Pitch better. Hear the music better.
They are open headphones. Imo open headphones always sound more open. They have less resonant cavity. Could the music bleed into my vocal tracks? Sure. Maybe a little. Ask yourself what’s important? The world’s cleanest album or a good vocal performance? From that perspective it’s easy.
Another tip worth mentioning; monitor with one ear open to the room. My voice never sounds natural through headphones. It always does in the room.