Our study examines the impact of student performance level, student gender and content matter on the verbal strategies (literal language, technical instruction and images and metaphors) teachers use in guitar masterclasses. After recording and transcribing 60 guitar masterclasses, of which 40 were selected for the final sample, we operationalised the variables as follows: independent judges evaluated students' performance levels, and the content taught and the verbal strategies used by teachers were categorised using the software NVivo 10. Statistical tests (two-way ANOVA, the Mann--Whitney U-test and the Kruskal-Wallis test) suggested that the content presented by the teacher may determine the type of verbal strategy used in the classroom. The results indicate that music education research has used images and metaphors as an umbrella concept, and this may hide specificities of the teacher's verbal discourse.