Welcome to Gaia! ::

what kind of evil teacher do you have. i'm new to band, so this sounds impossible to me. i'm sure even a more experienced band-o would find that hard.

I play marimba too, and this might be a little late, but here goes:

All music is math related because you must COUNT!! If you don't, shame on you and the BD will yell at you for losing your place.

When you hit a marimba/vibe/xylophone with a mallet, the sound waves given off by the keys travel through the pipes attatched to the mallet instruments. The pipes amplify the sound, so it is louder. Woodwind and Brass instruments are designed to amplify the sound from the mouthpieces, and the keys/valves change the pitch so you can play different notes.

Each pitch is of a different frequency. The lower the frequency, the lower the pitch, the higher the frequency, the higher the pitch. So the higher notes have a higher frequency than lower notes.

String instruments also give off sound waves, so the above applies to that as well.

Actually, it's all physics related, so that's tied in with math. Still too complicated, and I hated having to take physics last year. Hope this is some help, even if it is a little late......

Well...
(very simple non-correct terms follow, kill me xD)
Don't ask for specifics. I have none. But. As you know the length of the key has a relation to the tone. So math is needed there for a fine-tuned marimba. The tubes are there for echo purposes, so it sounds sexyful. And the length of the tubes is in relation to the length of the key.

I think.
xD

..And I'm a Band Geek Drummer .. So sue me.