In last week’s post, I shared an example of how Finale 2014 can automatically consolidate rests at your command. While many commented to express their enthusiasm for this particular feature, one reader also mentioned that my example included a tremolo/roll articulation that wasn’t perfectly placed:

And he’s right! Because Finale’s default articulation is created with a full stem length in mind, in the example above the tremolo/roll articulation on the half note in bar two looks cramped. Keep in mind this is Finale, so you can always go in and make the stem longer or move the articulation, but who wants to do that manually?

Today’s tip is to check out a tremendous free plug-in, created by our friend Jari Williamsson, and oddly titled the “JW Yada Yada Tremolo Plug-in”. To get your copy, visit Jari’s Downloads page: Under Plug-ins select Macintosh or Windows, read the details about how to install plug-ins, and then scroll down to the specific Yada Yada Tremolo plug-in.

After I followed Jari’s installation instructions, I ran the Yada Yada plug-in on the music above and produced this instantly:

This was clearly quicker and easier that making these edits manually, and I only had one roll in my example. Imagine the time saved in a score with dozens or hundreds of rolls!

While visiting Jari’s site I suggest you also check out his other plug-ins AND his extensive Finale 2014 Review, which does a spectacular job of providing a sense of the scope of all that is included in Finale 2014.

Thanks to Jari for all his great work, to those who commented on the last post, and to everyone who comments to this one by clicking on “Comments” below.