USX Technique

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

In this section, we’ll examine USX technique as used by players like Yngwie Malmsteen and Eric Johnson, and see how musical phrases can be organized around a fast, repeating upstroke-escape motion.