I sang in a Cathedral Choir, and I was taught to cup my hand over my ear by the choirmaster every now and again to basically check tuning and make sure we were 'secure' in our own voices. Now, that was in a choir situation so part of the purpose, as I understood it, was to block out other sounds (though not for too long, because the blend of voices is all important) - but we were also told that it was a good way of hearing exactly what you were singing, rather than what you thought you were singing. So it's a useful enough device, but I've never really done it as a solo singer. Perhaps I should!
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