How do I learn to compose for different genres ?

[G.E.PRODUCTIONS]

How do I learn to analyze a certain genre or style of music and then manage to successfully replicate that style in my music?

For example a Christmas carol will have a different feeling and style compared to a pop song.A modern orchestral film score will have a different style and feeling compared to a Beethoven symphony even though they use the same orchestra.A Hans Zimmer score will have a different feeling compared to a John Williams score, and so on...

I know the most obvious answer would be to listen a lot to the genre I'm trying to compose for but I'm hoping for other answers besides that.

 

[bandcoach]

a xmas carol is a decidedly different fish to a pop song, but they actually use a lot of the same underlying elements

where they differ may well be in rhythmic/metrical structures - a lot of xmas carols are in 3 or 6 whereas most pop is in 4 or 12

as for the rest, you are highlighting, perhaps, aspects which are more to do with orchestration than anything else as well as a willingness to work chromatically rather than stick to a single key for a melodic idea

in the end it comes back to listening, transcription and replication