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Disclaimer: I am not an engineer. However; i have read books on this subject and think i'm knowledgeable enough to answer this.
In a nutshell, resonance allows a soundwave to assist in moving air through the system. Resonance is used in both intake and exhaust systems precisely for this. Engineers tune their systems to "capture" a sound wave and redirect it to do what they want. So, the intake/exhaust is designed so that when the sound wave goes through the pipe, it is reflected in such a way as to "push" along the air in the pipe (into the engine on the intake side, away on the exhaust side). In effect, this works as a sort of small-scale forced induction when used on intakes. Not sure if i explained this very well, but i think you get the drift. Basically, resonant sound is used to help move air through the system. This is similar to what is applied to subwoofer enclosures. When you "tune the port" to a certain frequency, you're causing the sound waves to push themselves along, which increases the amount of sound you hear *at that given frequency*.
Confused enough?
-Grant
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