Eli5 How are you able to still hit notes when you hum and why do you run out of breath more quickly when you hum?
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Your vocal cords are still working when you hum, they make notes just like when you sing. You’re just not letting the air out through your mouth, you’re letting it out through your nose so you can’t change the sound the way you can with lips/tongue/jaw, but you still get the basic vibration.
I don’t really understand the second part of your question. More quickly than when?
The previous answer covers the first question well. For the second part, and this is just a guess, you probably move more air when humming to compensate for your nostrils not being as good at projecting sound as your mouth.
It’s an illusion. Say AHHHHHH and then close your mouth, I bet you up the volume too to compensate and then run out of breath faster. If you kept the same volume regardless if your mouth was open or not, you wouldn’t.
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