Hi there,
Actually /u/ and /i/ are very similarly formed and can help induce vocal fold thinning and lengthening. I'm wondering if you are over-widening your lips when you sing on an /i/ vowel and therefore are encouraging the larynx to rise. You would therefore begin to encounter problems symptomatic of a high larynx at your second passagio and above. The higher larynx helps get through the first passagio, giving you the false feeling of success, and then causes all kinds of problems as you ascend from there.
Instead try this. Begin an exercise on the /u/ vowel, then move to the German umlaut /u/ (which is a combination of an /i/ vowel with /u/ lips, as best as I can figure out) and then slightly adjust to an /i/ vowel. This may give you a smoother transition between the sounds, with a little more neutrality on the /i/. Also, try doing the exercise in your chest voice to get the proper feel before moving into the passagi areas.
HOpe this helps! Mary Beth F.
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