trumpet blower88

This isn't really trumpet-related, but we don't have a general music disscussion area here on TM so I thought this is a pretty good place to ask my question.

Anyways, I'm writting a piece for my schools symphonic band to play next year (hopefully) but I'm haveing some trouble writting the percussion parts. I'm not a percussionist, and I've never really even seen a percussion part enough to understand anything about it, so it's giveing me some problems.

My main question is this, the whole piece starts off with a big timpani roll, but I have no Idea how to write that! I always figured if the piece called for a roll held out for 4 beats it would use a whole note, but that just has one hit being held out for 4 beats. So then I tried it with just a bunch or 16th or 32nd notes, it looks ok on the paper, but it sounds bad (maybe its just the midi that sounds bad, i don't know).

So, if anyone could explain to me how to make drum rolls on finale2005, that would be the greatest thing ever and you would be my new hero.

butxifxnot

I don't know about Finale, but in physical music:
Have you ever seen a tremolo? I believe they look like that. So for a 4 count roll, you'd have a whole note tremolo (I'm not 100% positive, but I'm pretty sure [edit]Now I am 100% sure. Read next post[/edit]). Don't you have a percussion instructor at your school you can ask? And even if you don't, I'm sure you can browse the library to look at scores and parts there. Have fun.

EDIT PS: Would anyone happen to know how to tremolo on a trumpet?
EDIT2
Tremolos look like the note with a few (I think three) thick, diagonal bars over them (on the stems (like thick diagonal strike-throughs, and on notes where the stems are inverted, the strike-throughs are below, still on the same place), but in the whole note's case, in the space directly above).

mrfabulous963

The note will have slashes and it would be over a whole note since it is for four counts

(from a percussionist I know)