I like recording via smartphone for several reasons.
It's the fact that no massive effect is added so it comes all down to getting the performance right immediately. Furthermore the essential processing is already built in into the recording app - like a very natural compressor and limiter.
All together i get a very natural representation of what I performed, that i can instantly rewind on and get a sense of what worked out and what didn't sound the way "i felt it" while singing.
Also I get a representation of how I sound overall and what changes dependent on scale and involved vocal types. (head, chest, mixed)
Sometimes I can also notice issues related to health where I was breathing wrongly or didn't notice that my vocal chords were fatigued too much.
The instant replay (that needs several switches on my studio equipment) offers a lot of functionality for analyzing my performance, that is often sung with less pressure and more fun due to free air (no big microphone in front) and no headphones.
I just sing how i sing, hear how i naturally sound and can rate with no big effort. That along a good sorted list with editable names and small data sizes makes my smartphone the go to device for most recordings that don't have to be professional.
Samsungs Microphone App is also quite powerful for simple cuts and with the gathered experience I also noted that stereo recording matters in a way that i can't really describe yet (Dynamics and Tonality is a bit closer to reality) next to the aspect that small condenser mics suit my voice better than big condenser mics as they physically roll of a lot of the "too much" bass frequencies in my voice.
Usually none of my performances are perfect.
After all it is like a live performance that does not enable switching out failed sections and does not enable for special preparation for each section of the song.
Where artists have cut their performance I have to manage my breath to complete the hook afterwards.
That's been a bit hard in the beginning but meanwhile I became quite good in air endurance when it counts and selecting rhythmic places for taking breaths that do not destroy my flow and do not stick out too much in the end result.
As a consequence I sometimes have to sing different lyrics that the original artist or leave some parts to the background music and original artist. I pay attention to interact in some kind of way with the original artists performance that keeps my own lyrical selection independent but makes both voices still fit together.
That's why you often come across cutted parts or smaller snippets if it benefits the flow of listening.
As a note: When I relistened to the early files I noticed that my performances are generally better when I am performing on high volume (~80dB-85dB). As I am living in a students dorm this is the rare case. Most of my recordings were recorded at normal conversation volume thats around 70-77dB, sometimes even closer to whispering (~55-61dB). I would say my voice is because of that not used to that high performing volumes and sometimes suffering from pitch correctness when it comes to steadiness. However the engagement is generally way more intense as I am not dynamically limiting my air flow (I will soon see whether it's unhealthy how I do it) in order to be quieter the higher i go.
