what’s the state-of-the-art for setting OttavaBracket parameters?

[Kieren MacMillan]

Hi all,

I’m still using this OttavaBracket “hack” from nearly a decade ago:
[cf. https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/lilypond-user/2015-12/msg00783.html]

%%%  SNIPPET ENDS
\version "2.25.24"

#(define eightva
 #{
   %% messing around with \with-dimensions,
   %% because OttavaBracket has no details.stencil-align-dir-y
   \markup
       \with-dimensions #'(0 . 3.5) #'(-1 . 0.25)
       \lower #1.625 \italic \concat { "8" \raise #0.45 { \hspace #0.05 
\fontsize #-0.5 "va" } }
 #})
#(define eightva-par
 #{
   %% messing around with \with-dimensions,
   %% because OttavaBracket has no details.stencil-align-dir-y
   \markup
       \translate #'(0.625 . 0) \with-dimensions #'(0 . 4.625) #'(0 . 2.625)
       \lower #0.25 \concat { "(" \hspace #-0.125 \italic { "8" \raise #0.5 { 
\hspace #0.125 "va" } } \hspace #0.1 ")" }
 #})
octU = {
  \once \override Staff.OttavaBracket.font-series = #'normal
  \once \override Staff.OttavaBracket.before-line-breaking =
      #(lambda (grob) (ly:grob-set-property! grob 'text eightva))
  \override Staff.OttavaBracket.after-line-breaking =
   #(lambda (grob)
      (let* ((orig (ly:grob-original grob))
             (siblings (if (ly:grob? orig)
                           (ly:spanner-broken-into orig)
                           '())))
       (if (> (length siblings) 1)
           (for-each
             (lambda (sib) (ly:grob-set-property! sib 'text eightva-par))
             (cdr siblings)))))
  \ottava #1
}

{ \octU c'''1 1 \loco }
%%%  SNIPPET ENDS

Is there a better way nowadays to get the kind of control I want over the 
look/content of an OttavaBracket?

Thanks,
Kieren.

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