 He worked briefly with his brother in an antique business, then turned to landscape painting, for which he travelled widely, which gave him the opportunity to get to know local music.He was interested both in living folk music, which he gathered with the help of his niece Emma Mary Kidson (whom he called Ethel), and in the printed remains of popular music, which he collected and on which he was recognised as the leading authority of his day.His early work on folk music, published in "Old English Country Dances" (1890) and "Traditional Tunes