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Resonators: What Does a Resonator Do, Exactly?
2. The Indirect Way: Resonators
You can set into vibration a certain part of the instrument other than the resonator. The part that you set in motion connects to the resonator via an intermediary of some sort, which transmits the original vibrations to the resonator, which vibrates in sympathy.
With a stringed or wind instrument, unlike most drums, you can sustain the sound pretty easily. The string or reed that you set in motion has much less mass than the resonator to which it is indirectly attached. So you don’t need to deliver too much energy to keep the string or reed or your lips vibrating, and thus the resonator vibrating in sympathy.
(In the case of the flute family of instruments, you blow across a sharp edge. The resulting turbulence creates an air reed which sets the column of air inside the flute vibrating, which causes the body of the flute—the resonator—to vibrate in sympathy.)
In general ...
A small resonator (e. g., hi-hat or flute) creates small, fast compressions and rarefactions that your brain perceives as high frequencies of sound—high pitch.
A large, heavy resonator (e. g., bass drum or acoustic bass), moves big masses of air, creating big, slow compressions and rarefactions of air molecules which stimulate your ears and finally your brain, which perceives low frequencies of sound—low pitch.