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For what it's worth, Relinquished, I don't have GPO (yet), but I noticed the one question you asked top which QC didn't respond - the question about notation. In my version of Finale (2005a), putting the three slashes (otherwise known as a Tremolo mark) on a Timpani line will produce a kind of roll... but. I've always been taught that, when notating rolls in an orchestral setting, the Trill symbol is used (Tr~~~~~). In Finale '05, there is absolutely no difference between the sound produced by a tremolo mark and a Trill symbol, unless I manually input how many notes per second I want with a trill, something you can't do with Tremolos.
I'll take a small deviation to explain why...
Tremolos are broken down in sections according to how many slashes there are - one slash usually means eighth notes, two slashes are sixteenth notes, and three slashes are thirty-second notes. Usually. If you see one slash on an eighth note, you'll obviously produce two sixteenth notes, and the breakdown continues in this pattern with all flagged notes.
A trill, on the other hand, leaves the interpretation up to the performer, for the most part. This is why Finale allows you to specify how many notes per second you want on a trill in the Human Playback settings. (Granted, there are some customs today for trill interpretation, but these are easily set aside in more romantic or later settings.) I would recommend that you use the trill symbol when writing in those rolls, especially on Timpani and Bass drum. Then you can control how many notes per second, etc.
However, should you wish for an exact subdivision, go with tremolo marks of whatever... um, caliber... you wish. I more often find myself using tremolo markings with smaller percussion (snares, etc) for those exact reasons, and when noting repetitive parts in the strings (or, occasionally, woodwinds).
I hope that I've been some help, and if anyone disagrees with something I've said, let me know - but I can confidently say that I'm practically quoting my own Music Theory teacher, for whatever that may be worth.
~Dallas
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