Standing behind the Angklung, you couldn't see anything but Don Smith's eyes and his rapidly moving hands here and there as he played a fast-paced tune on the queer-looking musical instrument.

But you certainly could hear him playing the authentic Indonesian Angklung, an instrument taller than he is. It uses a series of bamboo tubes in varying lengths, strung vertically, which are shaken to produce vibrating columns of air.

"The longer the tube, the lower the pitch," Smith said.

The Angklung sounds like some kind of wonderful, elaborate wind chime. Vibrations and columns of air play a part in making music, but speed also seems to be a factor.

Though Smith says it's a cinch, it looks like hard work to play an Angklung. Several times during a recent boards and bamboo concert at the First Christian Reformed Church in Randolph, Smith asked the other musicians to slow it down a bit.

August Boorsma gave the concert a nine and a half on a scale of 1 to 10.

"I've never seen anything like it. This is the best entertainment you can get," Boorsma said.

At one point during the concert the musicians experienced an instrument malfunction and ran for their ever-handy suitcase of supplies.

"Duct tape," said Smith's wife, Mary. "It works every time."

She tossed a colorful blanket at her husband and suggested he tell a story to keep the audience occupied. He launched into a story about traditional Indonesian burial cloths and described the technique that produced the musicians' batik tunics. He told how Indonesians - both men and women - wear sarongs as garments draped around their bodies and tucked in at the chest or waist.

"The first time I wore one in public I used five safety pins on it," Smith said.

In no time at all, the Angklung was ready for another tune. They played folk tunes, hymns and even some American favorites such as "Puff The Magic Dragon."

They refer to their music as boards and bamboo. The Angklung is the bamboo and the Kulintang - boards laid atop sound boxes that are struck with rubber-covered mallets - is the boards part. The musician hits the boards to produce vibrations and pitch, Smith said.

He and Mary, former missionaries in Indonesia, along with friends and fellow musicians Gerry and Cheryl Meyer of Brownsville and Gwen Hinz of Lomira played the concert in Randolph April 14.

Interspersed among the tunes were some history lessons. Indonesia is made up of 17,000 islands, Bali being the most famous of them. They told the story of the Smiths' lives in Indonesia and how they were introduced to the music that they still love to play.

"Indonesian street musicians come and play in front of your house until you come out and give them money so they will go away," Smith said, laughing.

The Smiths brought their Angklung and the Kulintang to the United States after they finished stints teaching English as a second language at Christian universities in Java and Sumatra.

They served in the mission field in Indonesia from 1972 to 1985. After returning to the states, Smith served as a pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church. He retired six years ago.

After leaving the mission field, Smith taught English at West Bend High School. Students there had learned to play the boards and bamboo. "Groups of teens used these in the state music festival in the ethnic music division," Smith said.

When the show was over, members of the audience got a chance to try playing the instruments.

Patricia Wolff: 361-0770 or pwolff@thenorthwestern.com