Also called: loop recording
What is cycle recording?
Looping a section and recording a new take on each pass, stacking them in lanes to comp from later. Every lap starts at the same point, which makes it the fastest way to gather usable options.
A DAW-synced prompter rewinds with the loop, so each pass begins on the same word without anyone resetting a display.
Stacked rows holding multiple recorded takes on one track, letting you audition and select between them. Most modern DAWs create them automatically when you record over an existing region.
Building one final vocal from the best parts of several takes. The editor chooses per line or per phrase and crossfades between them, which is far quicker when every take was sung with consistent phrasing.
The play, stop, record, rewind and loop controls of a DAW, and the clock they drive. Plugins can read the transport state, which is how a lyrics display knows whether the song is running and where it is.