I like to play around with this myself. I actually figured out what causes it and can reproduce it whenever I want.

As you get to higher pitches you "shoot" the air up into your upper resonant chambers - this releases a lot of "weight" from your chords - when I don't feel much weight I tend to "relax into position" physically in my chords - I'm still buzzing in my palate - and most of the rest of my head, I've got my neck totally relaxed and my chords in whatever stage of the zipper they are in to aid in the tone production - but I release the tension on them - again, hold position, release tension - it's weird though because only the part that's "open" relaxes - the areas of my chords that are shut are still shut... but... my gap flaps It's a different way of approaching the "cry" or "fry" I believe. I have never felt the grit on my throat - just the "popcorn" that hits my palate. I can easily flip back and forth from that sensation to clean, and it never causes me to be sore or hoarse - BUT I only use it stylistically, not on in say - a heavy metal band that screams all night.

I honestly don't know if it's a good thing or not, but I figure as long as it doesn't cause pain or cause my palate to stop buzzing and I don't feel it in my throat it's all gravy

Practice extending your range in short episodes. Ideally, you want to reach those high pitches effortlessly without becoming raspy afterwards. This is a sign of tension and irritation. So you're not quite there yet. It is normal when experimenting with new technique or pushing our limits to experience that. Compare it to trying to do the split. Yo might have to push on your legs to the point where they might feel sore the next day. But eventually your tights will touch the floor. If you push all the way down the firs time you try, you WILL enjure yourself.

I would recommend using extreme caution when working your higher range. Verify with a profesional vocal coach that your approach is correct to avoid unnecessary injury. Make sure not to use too much power; don't push your voice. If you have created the right space for your larynx to tilt forward and pull your vocal cords accordingly, you should be able to sing high with little effort.

Hope that helps.

Val
www.voiceyourselfsinginglessons.com

Thanks for the feedback. I like the way you think Diane. "If it don't hurt it's all gravy!" I took your advice. When the unintentional staticy sound came out I just held the note for a while each time. It didn't hurt and it didn't negatively effect my voice in any way. Proving to myself that the voice is in fact very resilient. But something that REALLY impacted my practice sessions in a big way was something I relearned from week 5. When Jaime starts going over material from RYV. He goes over the basics of breathing. I thought I had the breathing down. I was breathing into my stomach and bearing down ok. But he mentiones kepping your belly expanded while you sing which I wasn't doing. I tried it today and at first I was like Holy Crap! It seemed like my voice couldn't handle the extra power too well. I kept at it though and I started getting the hang of it and by about an hour and a half in I couldn't believe the difference. It even helped me with my grit. Sounded a lot Ballzier. I've always wanted to use that word. Ballzier! Thanks Jamie! Hope this helps someone else.