DSX Technique

Downstroke escape, or DSX, is one of the two foundational forms of fast single-escape picking. The pick follows a simple repeating path that escapes after downstrokes, making those pickstrokes the natural point for changing strings.

In this section, we’ll examine DSX technique as used by players like John McLaughlin, Jorge Strunz, and Ardeshir Farah, and see how musical phrases can be organized around a fast, repeating downstroke-escape motion.