MIDI export and partial bars

[Joseph Rushton Wakeling]

Hello all,

A query about MIDI export, which relates to a feature request I have in mind but 
would like to confirm is feasible.

Lilypond's MIDI export has problems with partial opening measures.  This means 
that import into other programs will fail to place barlines correctly, and that 
MIDI players which display bar/beat numbers will also display wrongly -- e.g. in 
the Frescobaldi MIDI player, as described here:
https://github.com/wbsoft/frescobaldi/issues/43

There's an easy workaround, which is to define an alternative opening to the 
music using rests instead of a \partial measure:
http://osdir.com/ml/lilypond-user-gnu/2009-06/msg00418.html

... but this is imperfect, as it inserts silence at the opening of the MIDI file 
and also still results in bar numbering being offset by 1.

So, the question is, is it feasible to properly encode a pickup bar in MIDI, 
that is, to have the starting notes identified as belonging to the last notes of 
bar 0?  Will this be accepted or understood by MIDI players and other software's 
import functionality?

Thanks for any advice and comments,

Best wishes,

    -- Joe