The Instrument of Troubled Dreams features a modified 1960s Mellotron Mk II keyboard created by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller. Each of the instrument’s 72 keys has been programmed to play a different sound effect, vocal track, or musical part, allowing participants to compose their own faux film soundtrack. The keys are labeled with the sound they produce: “Rain,” “Cat Fight,” or simply “Vocal,” which plays a recording of Janet Cardiff reciting fragments from a spooky narrative. Watch as Bures Miller plays a score that includes splashing water, ravens, and distant dogs barking.