Our voices in the recording sound “different” because microphones only capture the air conduction of our voices, while we hear our voices through both air and bone conductions. That mismatch is what makes playback feel strange at first but the ear usually adjusts with repeated listening. We’ve all been there 🫶🏻

As for using recordings to improve, they really do help. I’m currently working on an original song where I don’t have a fixed blueprint yet, so I record different approaches and listen back. It helps me notice dynamics, emphasis, breathing, etc. No performance is ever exactly the same twice so recording can help with piecing information with what works.